WhatsApp usernames | Clixio Changelog

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames, allowing people to message businesses without sharing their phone numbers. Clixio has added support for this feature ahead of Meta’s launch, ensuring that these customers are automatically captured as contacts from the moment the feature becomes available in your area.

> There are no changes to your existing setup. This only affects new messages from customers who have enabled a WhatsApp username, and Clixio is already equipped to handle those.

• New customer capture: When a WhatsApp user who has adopted a username messages your business for the first time (a brand-new contact), Clixio creates a contact using their username and business-scoped user ID (BSUID). We developed this functionality ahead of Meta’s release, ensuring you’re ready from day one as usernames are rolled out in your regions.

• Messaging by phone number works exactly as before: Conversations via phone numbers remain unchanged. You can send and receive messages using phone numbers with no difference in behaviour.

• Contact import is unaffected: Importing contacts by phone number continues to function as it does today. Your import flow remains unchanged.

• Existing contacts are unaffected: Your current contacts, their records, and full conversation history will remain intact. There will be no migration or disruption to active automations.

• The only difference: When a customer who has adopted a username messages you for the first time, their phone number will not be shared. Clixio captures them by username and BSUID, so the conversation and the lead remain yours.

There is nothing you need to do. Contact creation for username adopters is enabled automatically. Phone-number messaging, imports, and your existing contacts will continue to function as they always have.

This feature is currently in beta with Meta and is being rolled out gradually across various regions. Usernames are first being introduced in the following markets:

• Algeria, Azerbaijan, Ghana, Libya, Nepal
• Colombia, Dominican Republic, Singapore, Malaysia, Peru

Further regions will follow as Meta expands the beta programme.

No. This operates automatically. Your current setup, contacts, imports, and automations will remain as they are.

Yes, with no changes. Every conversation where you have the customer’s phone number will behave exactly as it does now.

No. Importing contacts by phone number will work in the same manner as it always has.

Only one thing: When a customer with a WhatsApp username messages you for the first time, WhatsApp does not disclose their phone number. Instead of losing that lead, Clixio creates the contact using their username and BSUID.

No. A username serves as a display label, not an address. WhatsApp does not allow you to look up a customer by username; messages are routed only by phone number or the customer’s BSUID. Therefore, you cannot initiate a new conversation with someone whose username you only know.

Yes. Once they message you first, Clixio captures their BSUID, allowing you to respond and continue the conversation, adhering to the same WhatsApp session-window and template rules that apply to every conversation.

No. Since there is no way to connect a username to a phone number or a BSUID, you cannot send an outbound message to a customer whose information you only possess as a username. You can only message them after they have contacted you, at which point their BSUID becomes accessible.

A business-scoped user ID is a unique identifier assigned by WhatsApp to each customer specifically for your business, allowing you to keep messaging that customer even when their phone number is hidden. It is exclusive to your account, and is neither a phone number nor shared across other businesses.

Often, yes. If you have an existing relationship with the customer (for instance, if you have exchanged messages recently or they are already in your Meta contact book), WhatsApp will continue to share their phone number. The number is withheld mainly for brand-new customers who adopt a username and contact you for the first time.

No. There are no changes to WhatsApp billing, template approvals, or your existing workflows and automations.

No. Customers can change their username at any time, which is precisely why it is not used as an identifier. The BSUID remains stable for your business, ensuring your conversation history and automations remain reliable.

Usernames provide WhatsApp users with phone-number privacy, and their adoption is entirely at the customer’s discretion, so you cannot control who chooses to use it. Clixio has added support ahead of Meta’s rollout, so as the feature reaches your markets, a first-time username inbound will be captured automatically rather than slipping past a CRM that cannot process it. You are prepared while other platforms are still trying to catch up.

• Ready ahead of Meta’s rollout, ensuring username adopters are captured the moment the feature reaches your market.
• No gap in lead capture as customers transition to phone-number privacy.
• Zero setup and no changes to phone-number messaging, imports, or existing contacts, meaning there is no operational cost or migration risk to manage.