WhatsApp user ID (BSUID)

WhatsApp is introducing usernames, a new feature that allows users to connect with businesses without having to share their personal phone numbers. To facilitate this privacy-focused update, WhatsApp is replacing phone numbers in API interactions with a new identifier called the Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID). The ID will take the form of country_code.unique_alphanumeric_string (for example, US.13491208655302741918).

What is a BSUID?

A BSUID is a unique identifier that allows your business to interact with a WhatsApp user without needing their phone number.

  • After the usernames launch, users can choose to hide their phone numbers. In these cases, WhatsApp will provide a BSUID instead.

  • Every BSUID is unique to a specific Meta Business Account. If a user interacts with two different businesses, each will receive a unique BSUID for that user.

How BSUID impacts Sinch Contact Pro workflows

Incoming messages (customer-initiated conversations)

When a customer reaches out to your business, Sinch Contact Pro will show their information based on their privacy settings:

  • If a customer has adopted a username and chosen to hide their phone number, Sinch Contact Pro will show the customer's unique BSUID.

  • If the customer hasn't adopted a username or has chosen to continue showing their phone number, Sinch Contact Pro will show the phone number as usual.

Outgoing messages (agent-initiated conversations)

Your ability to reach out to customers remains uninterrupted:

  • You can continue to initiate conversations and send messages using a customer’s phone number, even if they have chosen to hide it. The processes for collecting user opt-ins and sending pre-approved WhatsApp templates will not change.

  • Starting a conversation to a BSUID is available via History by clicking the BSUID and selecting Send message.

  • Starting a new message to a BSUID via the plus button isn't currently possible.

Consent

When a new customer reaches out using a username and chooses to hide their phone number, the system only receives the BSUID. In this case, opt-in consent must be captured and mapped directly to their BSUID. For more information, see WhatsApp Opt-In.

Username versus display name

The username is a new feature from Meta and enables a consumer or a brand to reserve a unique username, for example Acme Inc. This username is searchable in WhatsApp and allows them to start a new conversation.

A display name isn't unique and can be whatever a customer wants it to be.

Sinch Contact Pro uses the display name to show the customer's name for chat conversations. The conversation details show either the phone number or the BSUID as identifier. Similarly, either phone number or BSUID is delivered to a CRM application and used for identification.

Examples

Scenario Result

Customer hasn't turned on phone number protection in WhatsApp.

Sinch Contact Pro receives customer’s phone number and uses it for searching previous conversations in the system.

Customer has turned on the phone number protection in WhatsApp.

Sinch Contact Pro receives only BSUID. The BSUID is used for searching previous conversations in the system.

Customer changes the setting between conversations with an agent.

Sinch Contact Pro doesn’t maintain a link between the two conversations. For example, the content of the previous conversation can't be matched to this conversation.

WhatsApp opt-in is maintained with the phone number in the Sinch Contact Pro system.

The process remains the same. If an agent tries to reach the customer using the phone number, the 24-hour rule is followed.

Now also the BSUID needs to be maintained if an agent wants to reach the customer for whom only the BSUID is known.