WhatsApp is rolling out usernames for people who want to chat with businesses without sharing their phone number. When this happens, a WhatsApp contact in Chatwoot may show a username, or may not show a phone number at all.

Chatwoot is fully BSUID-compliant for WhatsApp conversations. Your team can continue receiving and replying to WhatsApp messages even when WhatsApp does not share the customer’s phone number.

## What this means for your team

For agents, day-to-day work stays the same. New WhatsApp conversations continue to arrive in Chatwoot, and agents can reply from the conversation as usual.

The only visible difference is that some contacts may not have a phone number. If WhatsApp provides a username, Chatwoot can show that username on the contact. If the customer had older conversations with your team using a phone number, those conversations may appear under **Previous Conversations**.

## What is a BSUID?

BSUID stands for Business-Scoped User ID. It is the WhatsApp identity that lets a business keep messaging a customer when their phone number is not available.

You do not need to copy, store, or manage BSUIDs manually. Chatwoot handles the WhatsApp identity in the background and uses the right active identity for the conversation.

## How replies work

Chatwoot replies using the active WhatsApp identity on the conversation.

If WhatsApp provides a phone number, Chatwoot can use it. If WhatsApp does not provide a phone number, Chatwoot uses the BSUID provided by your WhatsApp provider. This keeps the current conversation replyable while preserving older conversation history.

## Meta Cloud WhatsApp inboxes

For Meta Cloud WhatsApp inboxes, Chatwoot supports contacts who only have a BSUID. Agents can receive and reply to these conversations from Chatwoot.

Supported WhatsApp message types can continue to work with BSUID-only contacts, including normal replies, supported templates, interactive messages, and attachments.

## Twilio WhatsApp inboxes

For Twilio WhatsApp inboxes, Chatwoot supports the WhatsApp identity information sent by Twilio, including BSUID information when it is available on the Twilio account.

Twilio support can depend on Twilio’s own WhatsApp capabilities and rollout status. If a message does not deliver, check the exact Twilio delivery status or provider error.

## Asking for a customer’s phone number

When available for your inbox, Chatwoot lets agents ask a BSUID-only WhatsApp contact to share their phone number.

The customer controls whether they share it. If they share their number, Chatwoot updates the contact when the response safely matches the current WhatsApp conversation. If the shared number appears to belong to another contact, Chatwoot marks it for review instead of merging it automatically.