How does the WhatsApp Business app handle several people?
The WhatsApp Business app is Meta’s own app for one business answering from one phone, with linked devices so the same account opens elsewhere too. Everyone works the same chat list under the business’s one account. That suits one or two people who answer now and then, but not a team answering customers all day.
Meta describes the app on its own page. If it is all you need, keep it; the rest of this guide is for when it is not, and WhatsApp Business API: do you need it? covers the choice in full.
What does a shared inbox add?
A shared inbox gives every person their own sign-in and one list of conversations. Read and unread are tracked per person, so two people do not quietly answer the same customer, a conversation can be assigned to whoever is handling it, and internal notes record what was agreed without the customer ever seeing them.
- Assign: press the name at the top of a conversation and choose someone under Assigned to; Filters → Assigned to → Mine then shows each person their own.
- Internal notes: press Note and the reply strip turns amber. Notes work after the 24-hour window too, which makes them the place to hand a conversation over.
- Labels and filters: labels such as Urgent, Payment or New enquiry, and filters by status, assignee, label or who started the conversation.
- Quick replies: saved answers anyone who can reply drops into the reply box by typing / and a shortcut.
The team inbox shows each of these on sample data.
Who can do what on a shared number?
Roles decide it. Owners and admins can do everything, except that only an owner pays for the plan, hands over ownership or deletes the workspace; agents answer customers but cannot start conversations or create templates; viewers read without writing. A custom role can be given any permission one by one, such as a night desk that never resolves.
A greyed-out button means your role does not include that action: hover over it to see which permission it needs, and ask an owner or admin to change your role.
What do customers see when different people reply?
Customers see the business name Meta approved for your number, never a staff member’s own name or number. Every reply comes from the business, so a customer can talk to the front desk in the morning and the manager in the evening within one conversation, and nobody’s personal phone is involved.
What happens when someone leaves the team?
Remove them on Team, and their access stops on their very next action; they do not stay in until they sign out. The conversations stay with the business, so whoever takes over reads the whole history, notes and labels. Each person’s Security page also lists the browsers their account is signed in on.
A lost phone is signed out from Security, under Signed-in devices, and is refused on its very next action. A workspace always keeps at least one owner, so the last one cannot be removed.
Can you keep the number you already use?
Not while it is registered on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, because a number can only live in one place at a time. Most businesses use a new number for their shared inbox, which also keeps work off a personal phone. Our team connects it with you on a short call while Meta sends a one-time code.
It is usually live within a day or two, most of which is Meta running its own checks. While you wait, you can name your workspace, invite your team and set up labels.
How many people can answer, and what does it cost?
How many people can answer depends on the plan you choose, and the plans and their prices are on our pricing page. Every workspace starts with a free trial of everything, with no payment details needed, and plans are paid monthly or yearly. Meta’s charges for WhatsApp messages are separate, and Meta bills them itself.
Meta charges for WhatsApp messages at its own rates and bills them to your WhatsApp Business Account directly — they are not part of your GoPromoteNow plan. See Meta’s pricing page for the current rates, and pricing for the plans.