> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.flowella.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Reserve your WhatsApp Business username in WhatsApp Manager
> Claim your @handle for the WhatsApp Business Platform before someone else does: prerequisites, the WhatsApp Manager steps, username rules, error codes, and what changes when customers hide their phone numbers.
WhatsApp is introducing **usernames**. Instead of a phone number, your business gets a handle such as `@yourbrand` that customers can type into WhatsApp to start a conversation. Reservations for business usernames opened on **29 June 2026**, and the feature is switching on country by country over the following months. Usernames are first come, first served, so this page walks you through reserving yours on the WhatsApp Business Platform now, even if it is not yet active in your country.
This guide covers the **WhatsApp Business Platform** route only, which is the one you are on if WhatsApp runs through Flowella or any other system rather than the WhatsApp Business app on a phone.
**Last verified 13 September 2026** against the WhatsApp Help Center and Meta's developer documentation. Meta is still rolling this out, so check the [sources](#sources) if something on screen does not match.
## Why reserve now
* **Usernames are unique and first come, first served.** Once a handle is taken by any WhatsApp account, consumer or business, nobody else can use it.
* **Matching Facebook and Instagram handles are held for their owners, but only for a limited time.** Meta reserves the username you already use on your Facebook Page or Instagram account so you can claim it on WhatsApp. WhatsApp says there is a limited window to do so and has not published an end date. After that window, there is no guarantee the handle will still be available.
* **It costs nothing.** Reserving a username has no fee, and you can change or delete it later.
* **It protects your brand even if you have no WhatsApp plans yet.** A reserved username is held for your phone number and cannot be claimed by anyone else.
## What a business username does, and does not do
A business username is a way for customers to reach you **without needing your phone number**. Once active, customers who do not have your number saved see your username instead of your number in chats, groups, and calls.
It is worth being clear about the limits:
* **It does not hide your business phone number.** Your number stays on your business profile. Meta's documentation is explicit that business usernames are not a privacy feature; that is what consumer usernames are for.
* **There is no directory.** Nobody can browse or search for your business. Customers need to type your exact username, so put it on your website, signage, email signatures and social profiles once it is live.
* **One username per phone number.** If your WhatsApp Business Account has several numbers, each needs its own username.
* **Your username is separate from your display name.** The display name still goes through Meta's review and still appears to customers; see [Display name & profile](/meta/profile-setup).
### How your name is shown in a chat
Meta displays business identity in this order of priority. The first one that applies is what the customer sees.
1. The name the customer saved you under in their contacts
2. Your verified business name, or your Official Business Account name
3. Your username
4. Your phone number
So a business that has completed Business Verification shows its business name to customers who do not have the number saved, with the username underneath as the way to reach it.
## Before you start
You need all of the following in place. If any are missing, work through the [Setup sequence](/meta/setup-sequence) first.
The username is set on a phone number that belongs to a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) inside your portfolio. See [Business portfolio](/meta/business-portfolio) and [WhatsApp Business Account](/meta/whatsapp-business-account).
The number must be registered for API use on the WABA. A number that has been added but not yet registered returns error `133010` when you try to set a username. See [Phone numbers](/meta/phone-numbers).
Meta requires the business portfolio to have a **higher messaging limit** than the one every new portfolio starts on (250 business-initiated conversations per 24 hours). If it does not, WhatsApp Manager shows **Account not eligible** and the API returns error `147002`. The fastest way past this is completing [Business verification](/meta/business-verification), which moves an approved portfolio to 2,000. Scaling by sending volume also works but takes longer. See [Messaging limits](/meta/messaging-limits).
To set a username you need admin-level access to the WABA or the phone number. If you want to claim a handle that is already in use on your Facebook Page or Instagram account, you also need **full control** of that Page or account, or **partial access with the manage phone permission**, because Meta requires you to link the phone number to it first.
If you are not sure which messaging tier you are on, open **WhatsApp Manager → Account tools → Messaging limits**. Anything above 250 is enough.
## Reserve your username in WhatsApp Manager
This is the recommended route and the one shown in Flowella's video guide.
Go to [business.facebook.com/latest/whatsapp\_manager/phone\_numbers](https://business.facebook.com/latest/whatsapp_manager/phone_numbers/) and select the business portfolio that owns your WABA if prompted.
In the left menu under **Account tools**, click **Phone numbers**, then click the number you want to give a username to. The number's detail panel opens on the right.
Across the top of the detail panel, click **Profile**. Scroll past **Profile picture** and **Display name** to the **Username** section.
If the number has no username yet, click **Create**. If one already exists, click **Edit**. The **Edit username** dialog opens.
The dialog shows a **Suggested** row. These are the usernames Meta has already reserved for your business from your Facebook Page, your Instagram account and your website domain, and they have a higher chance of approval. Click one, or type your own handle into the field. A green tick means it is available; **This username is not available** means it is taken or fails Meta's checks.
Click **Save**. The Username section now shows **Current username: @yourhandle** with a status badge and the date it was updated.
If you chose a handle that is in use on your Facebook Page or Instagram account, Meta will ask you to **link the phone number** to that Page or account before it will save. You can do this from the same dialog, or by adding the WhatsApp number to the Page or Instagram account directly. Without the link the request fails with error `147003` (Facebook) or `147004` (Instagram).
### What the status badge means
| Badge | Meaning |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Reserved** | Approved and held for your phone number, but not yet visible to WhatsApp users. It switches to active on its own when Meta makes usernames available in your country. Nobody can claim it in the meantime. |
| **Approved** | Active and visible. Customers who do not have your number saved see the username, and can start a chat by typing it. |
WhatsApp sends a notification when a reserved username becomes active. You do not need to do anything.
## Other ways to reserve
Go to **Settings → Accounts → WhatsApp accounts**, open the **Phone numbers** tab, click the number, scroll to **Username** and click **Create**. It is the same dialog as WhatsApp Manager.
For developers and solution providers, Meta exposes the username on the business phone number. The access token needs the `whatsapp_business_management` permission with Full control or Partial access to phone numbers on the WABA.
Set or change a username:
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com///username" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer " \
-d '{ "username": "yourbrand" }'
```
A successful response returns `{ "status": "reserved" }` or `{ "status": "approved" }`.
List the usernames Meta has reserved for your portfolio:
```bash theme={null}
curl "https://graph.facebook.com///username_suggestions" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "
```
Read the current username and status with `GET .../username`, and remove it with `DELETE .../username`. Full reference in Meta's [Business-scoped user IDs](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-scoped-user-ids/) documentation.
## Username rules
* 3 to 35 characters
* English letters (a to z), digits (0 to 9), full stops (.) and underscores (\_) only; accented characters such as ñ, é or ü are rejected
* At least one letter; a username cannot be numbers only
* No full stop at the start or end, and no two full stops in a row
* Cannot start with `www.`
* Cannot end with a listed domain extension such as `.com`, `.org`, `.net`, `.edu`, `.gov` or `.html`
* Case is ignored when checking uniqueness, but full stops and underscores are not: `myid`, `my.id` and `my_id` are three different usernames
* Some usernames are held by Meta for businesses, governments and public figures and cannot be claimed
## Errors you may see
| Error | What it means | What to do |
| --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Account not eligible** / `147002` | The business portfolio is still on the starter messaging limit. | Complete [Business verification](/meta/business-verification), or wait until you have scaled past 250 by sending volume, then try again. |
| **This username is not available** / `147001` | The handle is taken, fails Meta's internal checks, or is held for someone else. | Choose a different handle. If it is your registered brand and someone else holds it, see the [FAQ](#faq) below. |
| **FB account not linked** / `147003` | The handle is in use on a Facebook Page you have not linked to this phone number. | Link the phone number to the Page (full control, or partial access with manage phone), then retry. |
| **IG account not linked** / `147004` | The handle is in use on an Instagram account you have not linked to this phone number. | Link the phone number to the Instagram account, then retry. |
| **Username transfer required** / `147005` | The handle is already on another phone number in your portfolio. | Move it: in the API, resend with `"transfer_action": "force_transfer"`. |
| **Account not registered** / `133010` | The phone number has not been registered for API use. | Finish registering the number on the WABA, then retry. |
| `100` Param invalid | The handle breaks the format rules. | Check the [rules](#username-rules) above. |
## Changing, moving or deleting a username
* You can **change** your username from the same Edit dialog. There is a limit on how many times you can change it, and once you release a handle it may become available for others to claim.
* On the Platform a username can be **transferred between phone numbers in the same business portfolio**, for example from a test number to a production number, or when consolidating numbers. The handle itself is unchanged.
* **Delete** removes the username from the number. Do this only if you are sure; the handle goes back into the pool.
## When customers hide their numbers
Consumer usernames are a privacy feature. When a customer adopts one, their phone number is **hidden from anyone who has not already saved it**, including businesses. This is the part of the rollout that matters for anything connected to a CRM.
Meta's answer is the **business-scoped user ID (BSUID)**, a stable identifier for each customer that is unique to your business portfolio. Since April 2026 it appears in every inbound webhook. The customer's phone number is included alongside it only when one of three conditions holds: you have exchanged a message or call in the last 30 days, the customer is in your business contact list, or the customer has explicitly shared their contact details. Otherwise the number is omitted and only the BSUID is provided. Meta also provides a **Request contact info** button that businesses can send to ask a customer to share their number in the chat.
The practical consequences:
* A customer who messages you through your username may never share their phone number.
* If your workflows rely on the phone number as the customer key, they need to handle a stable ID instead. Meta requires all Platform businesses and partners to support BSUID.
* Where a workflow needs the number, such as shipping or a callback, ask for it in the conversation rather than assuming it will arrive with the message.
## FAQ
Meta provides two routes. For impersonation, use the **Report Abuse** channel in Meta Direct Support. For trade mark infringement, use the WhatsApp Intellectual Property Contact Form. Having your Facebook Page and Instagram account linked to the number, and Business Verification complete, strengthens the case.
No. The Official Business Account badge is a separate request in the same Profile tab and is not required. Usernames need the messaging limit condition above, not the blue tick.
WhatsApp says that for Meta Verified businesses with a custom web page address, the business username automatically matches that address and is already reserved. Check the Username section in WhatsApp Manager to confirm.
This page does not cover the app. In the app, usernames are reserved from your business profile on the phone (not WhatsApp Web) and no Business Verification is needed. If you use the app and Flowella together, see [Co-existence](/meta/co-existence).
Once your username is active, share it anywhere you currently share your number. Flowella's tracked links and QR codes continue to work as they do today; see [Entry points](/app/entry-points) and [Click-to-chat](/campaigns/click-to-chat).
## Sources
* WhatsApp Help Center: [About usernames on WhatsApp Business](https://faq.whatsapp.com/1131753190029163/)
* WhatsApp Help Center: [About username reservations on WhatsApp Business](https://faq.whatsapp.com/) (linked from the article above)
* Meta for Developers: [Business-scoped user IDs](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-scoped-user-ids/) (reserved usernames, Username API, error codes, format rules, display priority)
* Meta for Developers: [Messaging limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits)
## Related
The fastest way past "Account not eligible".
How the starter tier works and how to move past it.
The name customers see above your username.
Everything that has to be in place before this step.