How do I format phone numbers to send WhatsApp messages?

If your WhatsApp messages are not being sent from a Customer Journey even though your setup looks correct, the phone-number format stored on your user profiles is the usual cause.

Correct phone number format

Phone numbers must be stored in E.164 format: the plus sign, the country code and the subscriber number, with no spaces, dashes, brackets or leading zeros — and no whatsapp: prefix.

Format:

+[country_code][phone_number]

Examples:

+15551234567
+442071234567
+919876543210

How to store the phone number

Register the number as a WhatsApp subscriber in one of three ways:

• SDK — e.g. Pushwoosh.getInstance().registerWhatsappNumber("+15551234567") on Android, or the equivalent method on your platform.
• API — send the E.164 value through the Pushwoosh API.
• CSV import — Campaigns > WhatsApp messages > Upload contacts, or Audience > Import CSV > Import WhatsApp contacts.

A correctly formatted CSV looks like this:

Both Phone Number and User ID are required columns; you can map your own column names to these fields during import. Save the file as UTF-8, max 100 MB.

Once the numbers are stored in E.164 format, WhatsApp messages will be triggered correctly from your Customer Journeys.