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Keep using the WhatsApp Business app

Updated 29 September 2026

You don’t have to give up the WhatsApp Business app to use ChannelDesk. Connect the same number, and your team answers from the inbox while you can still reply from your phone. What you send from the app shows in the conversation in ChannelDesk too.

Before you start

  • Update the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.

  • You need to have used the number in the app for at least 3 months.

Connect it

  1. Go to Channels and select Connect WhatsApp.

  2. Choose Yes, and I’ll keep using the app, then select Continue with Facebook.

  3. Follow Meta’s steps to confirm your business and your number.

  4. When you see WhatsApp is ready, send yourself a test message to check it arrives.

What to expect

  • New messages show in both places: the app on your phone and your ChannelDesk inbox.

  • Replies you send from the app appear in the conversation, so your team knows you’ve answered.

  • Replies sent from WhatsApp on your phone are free. Replies sent from ChannelDesk use the number’s 1,000 free replies a month first.

  • Chats from before you connected stay in the app. They aren’t copied into ChannelDesk.

A WhatsApp number’s settings: Your number, with Message quality Good and the WhatsApp Business app still in use on the phone.

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