Ask the customer for their phone number on WhatsApp

Overview

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames throughout 2026. A customer who adopts a username can hide their phone number. In that case, the conversation arrives identified only by a business-scoped ID (BSUID, for example BR.123…) and the username, with no number. On WhatsApp Web, the equivalent is an @lid identifier.

The phone request is the official way for the customer to share their number with you:

• The customer receives a message with a native WhatsApp button to share their contact.
• If they tap the button, the number arrives in the conversation as "Shared phone number" and is saved on the contact.
• From then on, the platform sends to the phone number, as Meta recommends.

The customer always decides whether to share. If they decline or ignore the request, nothing happens: the conversation continues through the business-scoped ID.

Prerequisites

• A one-to-one conversation in a WhatsApp inbox. Groups, communities and channels do not accept the request.
• Permission to reply in the conversation.
• To ask with the 24-hour window closed: an approved template in the Utility or Marketing category that has the Share contact info button.
• In a WhatsApp Web only inbox: the WhatsApp Web service (gateway) updated by the platform operator. See the table under Settings & options.

Step by step

With the 24-hour window open

1. Open the one-to-one WhatsApp conversation.
2. In the composer, click Request phone number. When the contact's phone number is unknown, the button is highlighted.
3. On the Message tab, review the text the customer reads above the button. It is editable and accepts up to 1024 characters. Explain what the number will be used for.
4. Click Send request. The customer receives the text with the button to share their contact.

With the 24-hour window closed

1. In the composer, click Request phone number.
2. On the Approved template tab, choose a template in the Utility or Marketing category that has the Share contact info button. The button takes no parameter when sent.
3. Click Use template. The WhatsApp template composer opens with the template already selected.
4. Fill in the variables, if any, check the preview and the cost, and click Send.

If there is no approved template with that button, the dialog explains how to create one in Settings → Inboxes → (your WhatsApp inbox) → Templates.

When the customer shares

• The number appears in the conversation as "Shared phone number" and is saved on the contact.
• The next messages are sent to the phone number.
• If the customer shares another person's card, it stays a regular contact card and does not change the conversation's contact.
• On WhatsApp Web, the customer answers by sending their own contact card. The platform saves the number only when WhatsApp proves the card is the customer's own, in a one-to-one conversation. Because WhatsApp Web does not link the answer to the request, the customer's own card is also accepted when it arrives without a request.
• If the number already belongs to another contact, the platform does not merge the contacts on its own. The bubble warns you and offers Open contact, so you can use the existing merge flow.
• If the contact already had another phone number saved, the bubble warns you and offers Review contact, so you can check which number should stay on the contact.
• On a conflict warning, the bubble also offers Dismiss warning. It marks the conflict as reviewed without merging anything, and the bubble then shows Warning dismissed. The agent decides: the platform never merges contacts on its own.

Settings & options

Where the button appears

• In the composer of a one-to-one WhatsApp conversation, labeled Request phone number.
• Highlighted when the contact's phone number is unknown.
• In groups, communities, channels, unsupported inboxes or for people who cannot reply, the button is hidden or disabled, with the reason.
• The button label the customer sees is fixed and appears in the language of their app. It cannot be customized.

By inbox type

Flows (Flow Builder)

The message node has the Request contact type, which sends the same phone request on official WhatsApp.

Meta contact book

The contact book is a Meta feature, per business portfolio, that stores the phone number of people who interacted with the number and uses it to fill in subsequent webhooks.

• A phone number shared through the button is added to it automatically.
• It only records interactions from the feature's launch onward.
• It can be turned off in Meta Business Suite → Business settings → Business info. Turning the contact book off deletes its contents.

Use cases

• Confirm a delivery or an appointment with a customer who appears only by username.
• Ask for the phone number after the 24-hour window has closed, with an approved template that has the Share contact info button.
• Ask for the phone number inside an automated flow, with the Request contact type.

Tips, limits & best practices

• Ask for the phone number only when there is a reason, and explain in the text what it will be used for.
• If the customer declines or ignores it, do not insist repeatedly. The conversation continues through the business-scoped ID, and Meta may apply quality limits to unwanted messages.
• Free text accepts up to 1024 characters.
• Authentication templates do not accept the Share contact info button, and a template can have only one such button.
• The button label is set by WhatsApp and cannot be customized.

Privacy and data protection (LGPD)

• The customer decides whether to share their number.
• The shared phone number becomes personal data of the contact and is masked in Presentation Mode.
• For data deletion requests, use the platform's privacy process.

Troubleshooting

No failure resends the phone request on its own. This way, the customer never receives the same request twice. Try again when the message says nothing reached the contact.

• "The phone request was not sent because the WhatsApp 24-hour customer service window is closed.": send an approved Utility or Marketing template with the Share contact info button.
• "The phone request was not sent because it has no text." or "…because its text is longer than 1024 characters.": write the text the customer reads above the button, up to 1024 characters.
• "Meta does not accept this message type for a contact known only by their WhatsApp username…" (code 131062): this happens with Authentication templates. Ask for the phone number before sending that type of template.
• "This WhatsApp Web inbox cannot ask for the phone number yet…": the inbox's WhatsApp Web service needs an update. Ask the platform operator to update the gateway, or send the request through the official WhatsApp channel.
• "The WhatsApp Web session of this inbox is disconnected, so the phone request was not sent.": reconnect the inbox and try again.
• "The WhatsApp Web service refused this phone request, so nothing was sent.": try again. If it keeps failing, contact the platform operator.
• "WhatsApp Web could not use this contact's phone number.": check the number saved on the contact and try again.
• "WhatsApp did not send the phone request. Nothing reached the contact, so you can try again.": send the request again.
• "WhatsApp did not confirm whether the phone request reached the contact.": the request is not resent automatically, so the contact is never asked twice. Before asking again, keep in mind that the customer may have already received it.
• There is no template with the button to choose: create one in Settings → Inboxes → (your WhatsApp inbox) → Templates, in the Utility or Marketing category, and wait for Meta's approval.
• The customer shared, but the number already belongs to another contact: the bubble shows the warning and offers Open contact, to use the contact merge flow, and Dismiss warning, to mark the conflict as reviewed without merging anything. Once dismissed, the bubble shows Warning dismissed. The agent decides: the platform never merges contacts on its own.
• The contact already had another phone number saved: the bubble shows the warning and offers Review contact. Check which number should stay on the contact.
• The Request phone number button is disabled: check the reason shown. The request does not apply to groups, communities, channels, unsupported inboxes or people who cannot reply in the conversation.

See also

• WhatsApp hybrid inbox: Coexistence (Cloud) + WhatsApp Web
• WhatsApp Inbox Suite: Templates, Flows and Calls
• WhatsApp Cloud Coexistence
• Flow Builder
• Presentation Mode