Insights & Strategy

WhatsApp Usernames Are Coming. What Changes When a Customer Messages You Without a Phone Number?

Ascent24 Technologies
6 min read
WhatsApp usernames and customer identity guide for businesses, with the Ascent24 logo

For years, a phone number has been the one thing every WhatsApp conversation had in common. Your CRM used it to find the customer. Your order bot used it to look up the last order. Your support team used it to spot a repeat complaint. That assumption is about to stop being safe.

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames. They are optional, but per WhatsApp's own FAQ, a person who has reserved a username will not have their phone number shared with a business they contact for the first time. If your systems treat the phone number as the customer, some of those chats will arrive with no number to match.

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What is actually changing

There are two separate pieces, and they affect you differently.

Your business username. Businesses on the WhatsApp Business app and the Business Platform can reserve an @username now. On the Platform you do it in WhatsApp Manager or Meta Business Suite, under the phone number's profile. Each phone number gets its own username, and your phone number stays visible on your business profile. A username does not hide your number.

Your customers' usernames. This is the bigger change. When a customer turns on a username, Meta's developer documentation says their phone number will not be included in your webhooks unless one of these is true:

  • You messaged or called that number, or they messaged or called you, in the last 30 days, checked per business phone number.
  • The customer is in your contact book, a Meta-hosted feature that stores the number and ID once you have interacted after it launches.

In every other case, you get a business-scoped user ID instead.

What a business-scoped user ID is

Meta calls it a BSUID. It looks like a country code, a full stop and a long string, for example US.13491208655302741918. A few points matter for planning:

  • Meta started including BSUIDs in webhooks in April 2026, for every user, whether or not they have a username.
  • It is tied to your business portfolio. A different portfolio gets a different ID for the same person.
  • It changes if the customer changes their phone number. Meta sends a system message with the new and previous ID so you can join them.
  • You can send most message types to a BSUID. One-tap, zero-tap and copy code authentication templates still need the phone number.

Meta's page says supporting BSUIDs is required for all partners and directly integrated businesses on the Platform, and for click-to-WhatsApp advertisers. It also says details are subject to change, so check it again before you build.

A checklist for the next few weeks

  1. Reserve your business username. Do it for every number you use with customers. Most names are first come, first served, and changes are limited, so pick carefully.
  2. Add a WhatsApp ID field to your customer record. Store the BSUID next to the phone number. Do not overwrite one with the other.
  3. Stop using the phone number as the only key. Order lookups, ticket matching, loyalty checks and duplicate detection should all work from the BSUID when no number is present.
  4. Test your webhooks. Meta's App Dashboard lets you send test payloads where the user has a username and no phone number. Run them against your bot, CRM sync and reporting before real customers do.
  5. Ask for a number only when you need it. Meta has added a request contact info button for utility and marketing templates and interactive messages. Use it at the step where you truly need a number, such as delivery, not as the first message.
  6. Handle number changes. Listen for the system message that reports a new ID, and merge the records.
  7. Update agent scripts. Your team should not ask "what number are you messaging from?" when it is no longer visible. Ask for an order number or email instead.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming few customers will turn it on. You cannot control who adopts usernames, and old chats fall outside the 30-day window quickly.
  • Fixing only the chatbot. Spreadsheets, delivery apps and reporting often join on phone numbers too.
  • Treating a BSUID like a phone number. Do not strip the country code or the full stop. Meta says requests fail if the value is changed.

Where Quik fits

Quik, our WhatsApp automation product, is built around running WhatsApp as a sales and support channel: an AI assistant for conversations, conditional sales flows, broadcasts, abandoned cart recovery and a structured sales CRM. If you run WhatsApp through Quik or through your own integration, the same question applies: is every customer record matched on something other than the phone number? We can review your setup, update the data model and test the username scenarios with you. Write to info@ascent24.io. If you are also reviewing costs, see our guides on WhatsApp template categories and WhatsApp service message charges.

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FAQs

Do I need a username to keep using WhatsApp Business?

No. Usernames are optional for businesses and users. You still need a phone number to register.

Will my business phone number be hidden if I add a username?

No. Your phone number stays on your business profile. Usernames hide the number for consumers, not businesses.

When will a customer's phone number not reach my system?

When the customer has a username, you have not exchanged messages or calls with that number from that business phone number in the last 30 days, and they are not in your contact book. You will get their BSUID instead.

Can I still message a customer if I only have their BSUID?

Yes, for most message types. One-tap, zero-tap and copy code authentication templates still require the phone number.

Where do I reserve a business username?

On the Business Platform, in WhatsApp Manager or Meta Business Suite under the phone number's profile. On the WhatsApp Business app, in the app itself.

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