--- title: "WhatsApp usernames and BSUIDs: what changes for businesses" description: "WhatsApp usernames and the new BSUID customer identifier: when phone numbers are hidden, what changes in messaging and webhooks, and how to prepare." slug: whatsapp-usernames-bsuid lang: en canonical: https://autorply.sa/guides/en/whatsapp-usernames-bsuid alternate_ar: https://autorply.sa/guides/whatsapp-usernames-bsuid published: 2026-11-10 updated: 2026-11-10 publisher: "Autorply (https://autorply.sa), Official Meta Business Partner" --- # WhatsApp usernames and BSUIDs: what changes for businesses WhatsApp now lets people choose a username that shows instead of their phone number. Alongside it, Meta added a new identifier for each customer, the BSUID, which you can message even when you don't know their number. This guide summarises Meta's official documentation: what it means for your business, when you won't receive a phone number, and how to prepare. ## Three new concepts - **Customer username:** An optional, unique name a customer chooses. It shows in the app instead of their phone number. Changing it doesn't affect their number or their BSUID. - **Business username:** Optional for businesses and it does not hide the business number. Each business number has one username, and no two numbers can share one. - **BSUID:** A backend identifier for a customer, scoped to your business portfolio. You can message the customer with it even without their phone number. - **Parent BSUID:** For businesses with several portfolios. The customer has the same parent BSUID across every enrolled portfolio. Eligibility goes through your Meta point of contact. Format: a two-letter country code, a period, then up to 128 alphanumeric characters. Meta's example is `US.13491208655302741918`. Always use it **in full**, country code and period included. > **Important:** A BSUID is regenerated when the customer changes their phone number, so a stored BSUID can go stale. Track the system messages that announce the change. ## When the changes started | Date | What happened | |---|---| | April 2026 | Meta began sending BSUIDs in webhooks | | June 29, 2026 | Businesses can start reserving usernames | | July 2026 | APIs support messaging to BSUIDs | | During 2026 | Usernames roll out gradually to users | Meta notes that all of these changes are subject to change. ## When you won't receive the customer's phone number If a customer has adopted a username, their phone number is **left out** of webhooks unless one of these applies: - You messaged or called their number in the last 30 days. - They messaged or called you from their number in the last 30 days. - The customer is in your contact book. These conditions are evaluated **per business phone number**, not per portfolio. Customers without a username keep sending their phone number as before, now with a BSUID alongside it. > **Watch out:** Meta says partners, directly integrated businesses and click-to-WhatsApp advertisers must support BSUIDs, or they may lose the ability to process messages from customers who adopt usernames. ## The contact book and the request-contact button **Contact book:** a Meta-hosted feature that needs no integration. It stores the customer's phone number and BSUID once you exchange a message or call from their number, scoped to your portfolio. It's what keeps phone numbers in your webhooks even for customers with usernames. - It only records interactions after launch. Older contacts aren't added retroactively. - You can turn it off in Business Settings, but that deletes the stored data, and turning it back on doesn't restore it. **Request contact info button:** add it to utility and marketing templates, or send it as an interactive message. When the customer taps it, their number is shared with you and a contacts webhook fires. With the contact book on, the number is saved automatically. ## What changes when you send messages - You can send to a phone number, a BSUID, or both. When both are present, the phone number wins. - **Authentication templates** (one-tap, zero-tap and copy code) require a phone number and don't work with BSUIDs. Trying returns error `131062`. - The Marketing Messages API supports both, and Meta recommends sending to phone numbers so you keep receiving numbers in webhooks. - A BSUID belongs to your portfolio. Numbers in another portfolio can't message it unless you use a parent BSUID. ## Business username rules - 3 to 35 characters: English letters, digits, periods and underscores only. - At least one letter. It can't start or end with a period, or contain two periods in a row. - It can't start with `www.` or end with a domain suffix such as `.com`. - Case is ignored, but periods and underscores count. - If the name is already used on a Facebook Page or Instagram account linked to your business, link the business number to that account first. - Claiming a username requires a sufficiently high messaging limit. You can claim the reserved name or choose your own in WhatsApp Manager, Meta Business Suite or the Username API. In chats, the app shows a saved contact name first, then a verified business name, then the username, and the phone number last. ## How to prepare your business 1. **Test now:** Use the webhook test tool in your App Dashboard. It covers cases with and without usernames, and with and without phone numbers. 2. **Store the full BSUID:** Keep it as a customer identifier. Don't split off or change the country code. 3. **Don't rely on the phone number alone:** Make your systems handle webhooks without a phone number, and key customer records on the BSUID. 4. **Track number changes:** System messages tell you when a customer changes their number or their BSUID changes, and include the previous BSUID so you can link the two records. 5. **Ask for the number when you need it:** Use the request contact info button when you genuinely need the number, for example for verification or invoices. ## FAQ ### Does a username hide my business phone number? No. According to Meta, business usernames are optional and don't hide the business number. ### Can I send an authentication code to a customer whose number I don't know? No. Authentication templates require a phone number. Sending one to a BSUID returns error 131062. ### What happens when a customer changes their phone number? They get a new BSUID, and you receive a system message with both the old and new BSUID so you can link them. ### Does the contact book need any development work? No. Meta hosts it with no integration needed, and you can turn it off in Business Settings. ## Official sources - [Meta for Developers: Business-scoped user IDs and usernames (WhatsApp Business Platform)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-scoped-user-ids) - [Meta for Developers: WhatsApp Business Platform changelog](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog/) Source: https://autorply.sa/guides/en/whatsapp-usernames-bsuid