Your number links to Outboundry as a device, exactly the way WhatsApp Web does.
What that means for you:
This is not the official WhatsApp Business API. There are no message templates to get approved and no per-message carrier fee.
Your number is subject to WhatsApp's ordinary anti-spam enforcement. If you message a lot of people who never reply, it can be restricted.
We cannot guarantee your number will not be restricted, and we would rather say that before you connect than after.
Use a dedicated business number. You can connect your personal number, but once it is linked, your outreach and your personal chats share the same reputation — and that cannot be unpicked afterwards.
Do not run the same number in another automation tool. WhatsApp's device slots are finite, and competing sessions cause the number to unlink repeatedly. If a number keeps dropping, this is the first thing to check.
Have a free slot. Each connected number occupies one slot at $15/month. If all your slots are in use, the connect form is replaced by a "No slots left" block offering to buy a slot or release an existing number.
Go to WhatsApp Accounts › Connect Number. The whole flow takes under two minutes.
Scan a QR code (recommended)
Enter an 8-digit pairing code — for when you cannot point a camera at the screen, such as a remote session or a desk phone
Field | Why it exists |
Number and dial code | Eight countries are preset. Once linked, the number is locked to the device. |
Label | How the number appears as a sender in campaigns. Optional, but strongly recommended once you have more than one number. |
Time zone | Messages only send inside this number's working hours, in this zone — not your workspace time zone. |
Country | Sets the region of the IP the session runs from, so the session origin matches the number's country. |
Own proxy (optional) | For agencies running many client numbers who want to control session egress themselves. Most users do not need this. |
Risk acknowledgement (required) | Confirms you understand the number can be restricted and that you are comfortable using this number for outreach. Continue stays disabled until this is ticked. |
On the linking screen, you get three numbered instructions matching WhatsApp's own wording, plus a live "Waiting for the phone" state.
On your phone: WhatsApp → Settings → Linked devices → Link a device, then scan the QR code or enter the pairing code.
The QR code is valid for 40 seconds. After that it visibly dims and a Refresh code action appears. We would rather show you a stale code clearly than leave a live-looking one that your phone will silently reject.
Once linked, warm-up begins today at 5 conversations a day and ramps to your configured cap over 21 days.
If your device unlinks, the number's status flips to Disconnected and a "Device unlinked" banner appears in the number drawer with the reason and a Reconnect action. Campaign steps on that number pause rather than fail — queued leads wait; they are not skipped.
Re-linking keeps everything: the number, the label, the conversation history and your warm-up position. The number field is read-only, because a different number has to be connected as a new account occupying its own slot.
Note that releasing a slot and reconnecting the same number later restarts warm-up from day one. Re-linking does not.
WhatsApp Accounts shows every connected number.
Column | What it tells you |
WhatsApp number | With a linked-device check, and a warning icon when there is a problem. |
Status | Active or Disconnected. Binary by design — the device is either sending, or it is not. |
Reply rate | The percentage plus the absolute reply count, or "No data yet" for a number too new to have a meaningful rate. We never show 0% for a number that has only sent 18 messages. |
Sent today | A capacity bar against your daily cap. It turns hot above 85% of the cap. |
Warm-up | Reads "Day 6 — 12/day" while ramping, and "At full volume" when finished. |
A slot meter in the toolbar shows used against total with a fill bar, marks "(full)" when nothing is free, and offers a Buy slots action.
Open analytics
Number settings
Open in Unified Inbox
Re-link / Reconnect device
Pause sending — stops WhatsApp steps on that number and leaves open conversations in the inbox
Release slot — unlinks the device, pauses campaign steps using the number, and frees the $15 slot at the end of the billing period
Both Pause and Release ask for confirmation first.
The limit counts new conversations per day, not messages. Replies inside an open conversation are not capped — continuing a conversation someone has already answered is never limited.
Range: 1 to 60 per day.
Recommended ceiling: 30, marked at the midpoint of the slider track.
Above 30, the hint turns into a warning: blocks and reports climb quickly past 30. We allow it, we do not hide the consequence, and we do not make you hunt for the number that is actually safe. The track bar turns danger-coloured.
21 days, linear from 5 a day to your configured cap. The number drawer draws the whole ramp, distinguishing completed days, today and planned days.
On by default. Turning it off sends your full cap from day one, and the toggle says exactly that.
Warm-up progress is per number and survives a re-link.
Releasing the slot and reconnecting the same number restarts the ramp.
A brand-new number pushed to 30 a day on day one is the single most common way to lose it.
A time zone plus a From and To window. Nothing sends outside it.
Weekend sending is off by default. WhatsApp is a personal channel, and a Saturday message reads as an intrusion.
A step that comes due outside the window waits for the next open window rather than firing late or being skipped. With weekends off, a Friday-evening step sends Monday morning.
WhatsApp Campaign — messages and voice notes from your connected numbers. Marked as an add-on in the type picker.
Multichannel (recommended) — LinkedIn, email and WhatsApp in one sequence with conditional branching. This is where WhatsApp earns most of its lift.
Step | What it does | Outcome branches |
WhatsApp Message | A direct text message from the assigned number. | Replied (ends the sequence) / No reply, on a wait window. |
WhatsApp Voice Note | A recorded or AI-generated voice note — the highest-signal touch on the channel. | Replied (ends the sequence) / No reply, on a wait window. |
If WhatsApp number | A condition that branches on whether the lead has a reachable WhatsApp number. | Number found / Not found. |
A WhatsApp Follow-up template ships with the builder: a message, then a voice note two days later if there is no reply, then one last nudge three days after that. Three steps over six days.
Numbers are picked on the campaign's Launch step.
Multiple numbers on one campaign rotate, each respecting its own cap, schedule and warm-up position.
A paused or disconnected number stops contributing. The campaign continues on the remaining numbers and flags reduced capacity rather than stalling silently.
Reply detection is per conversation. Once a lead replies, the sequence ends for that lead on the WhatsApp branch and the thread moves to the inbox.
There is no subject line. WhatsApp strips formatting, so the first line is what earns the reply — and the composer says so.
Merge tags behave as they do everywhere else in Outboundry and are filled per lead at send time.
AI personalization is available per step, with a fallback message that sends only if generation cannot run.
The preview renders as an actual WhatsApp chat from your sending number, because a message that looks fine in a form can still look wrong in a chat bubble.
Keep it short. The composer nudges you toward short first messages; long opening messages get reported.
Keep links out of the first message. A first touch that is mostly a link is the most reported kind. Media and voice notes are supported as steps.
WhatsApp is a tab in the Unified Inbox, filterable by number and by campaign.
Threads render as a real chat: day separators, timestamps, sent and received bubbles, and voice notes with their duration.
Every sent message shows as "You", whether a human or the AI composed it — matching the rest of the inbox.
The thread header carries the sending number and the pipeline stage chip, so you can categorise a reply without leaving the conversation.
Replies count toward the lead's CRM activity and the campaign's reply metrics.
Numbers are workspace-level, so conversations are visible to your whole team.
Open the number drawer and go to Analytics.
Today summary, per number: messages sent, delivered, read, replies, reply rate, blocks and reports.
Outreach insights: sent, read and replied series, each toggleable, over Today, Yesterday, This Week, This Month or Last Month. Today and Yesterday render hourly; longer ranges render daily. A campaign filter attributes volume to a specific sequence. 60 days of history are retained for the chart.
Reply rate is the health metric that matters. WhatsApp restricts numbers that message many people who never reply, so a falling reply rate is an early warning, not just a performance dip.
Blocks and reports above zero is a signal to act, not a vanity stat. Two or three in a week on a low-volume number means your targeting or your opener is wrong.
Delivered but not read, at volume, usually means wrong or stale numbers rather than disinterest.
If reply rate collapses on a number that was previously healthy, cut the daily cap and re-warm rather than pushing more volume through it.
Item | Price | Notes |
Number slot | $15 / month | One connected number per slot. Buy up to 50 at a time. |
Messages | Included | No per-message fee and no template fees. The channel runs on your linked device. |
Voice notes | Included | Counted as a step, subject to the same daily conversation cap. |
The phone number | Not sold by us | You connect a number you already own. |
Inbox and CRM | Included | WhatsApp conversations use the existing Unified Inbox and pipeline at no extra cost. |
New slots are prorated for the remainder of the current period, then renew with your plan.
Releasing a slot keeps it active to the end of the paid period. It is not refunded mid-cycle.
With all slots in use, the connect flow blocks and offers either buying a slot or releasing one. It never quietly over-provisions.
AI personalisation on WhatsApp steps consumes your workspace's existing AI allowance, the same as email and LinkedIn steps.
My number shows as Disconnected. The phone went offline or the device unlinked — WhatsApp drops linked devices after roughly 14 days offline. Campaign steps on that number pause rather than fail; the row shows the reason on hover, and the drawer banner offers Reconnect. Queued leads wait; they are not skipped.
The QR code expired before I could scan it. The code dims after 40 seconds and a Refresh code action appears. Generate a fresh one and scan again.
My number keeps unlinking. Check whether the same number is linked in another automation tool. WhatsApp's device slots are finite and competing sessions cause repeated unlinking. This is the most common cause of a flapping number.
My number was restricted or banned by WhatsApp. Sending stops, the number shows Disconnected with the restriction as the reason, and campaign steps pause. Outboundry cannot appeal on your behalf — the appeal happens inside WhatsApp. The slot keeps billing until you release it.
I hit my daily cap mid-sequence. Remaining leads roll to the next day's window, in order. The cap is never exceeded to clear a backlog.
A step came due outside my sending window. It waits for the next open window in the number's time zone. With weekends off, a Friday-evening step sends Monday morning.
A lead has no WhatsApp number, or their number isn't on WhatsApp. Use the "If WhatsApp number" condition before the step and route the Not found branch to email or LinkedIn. Without the condition, the step fails for that lead and the sequence continues on the No reply path.
A lead replied halfway through the sequence. The WhatsApp branch ends for that lead, further WhatsApp steps are cancelled, and the thread is handed to the Unified Inbox. A reply is a conversation, not a metric to keep automating over.
A lead replied "stop" or asked not to be contacted. This is treated as an opt-out across every channel, not just WhatsApp. The lead is excluded from further sends and the reason is recorded on their timeline.
Two campaigns are targeting the same lead on the same number. One conversation per lead per number. The second campaign's step is suppressed rather than opening a duplicate thread, and the suppression is visible in campaign activity.
All my slots are in use. The connect form is replaced by a "No slots left" block with a Buy a slot action, and the alternative of releasing an existing number is stated.
I released a slot while campaigns were running on it. The confirmation warns that campaign steps using the number will pause. Open conversations stay in the inbox and remain readable after release.
I connected my personal number by mistake. There is no clean fix. Once linked, your outreach and personal chats share that number's reputation. Use a dedicated business number instead.
I can't save my voice note step. The step cannot be saved without audio or an AI-generated note, so a campaign never launches with an empty voice step.
AI personalization couldn't generate for a lead. The step's fallback message sends instead. If there is no fallback, the step is skipped for that lead and logged as a failure. A message is never sent with unfilled merge tags.
I changed the number on my phone, or moved the SIM. The number is fixed to the linked device and read-only in settings. A different number is a new connection occupying a new slot.
I'm an agency running numbers in several countries. Set the country and time zone per number, and optionally a per-number proxy, so each session originates in a plausible region and sends in local hours.
My brand-new number shows "No data yet" instead of a reply rate. That is intentional. A number with barely any sending history has no meaningful rate, and showing 0% would be misleading.
Is this the official WhatsApp Business API? No. Your number links as a device, like WhatsApp Web. That means no template approvals and no per-message fees, but the number is subject to WhatsApp's normal enforcement.
Can I buy a WhatsApp number from Outboundry? No. You connect a number you already own. A slot is the right to connect one number, not the number itself.
Does my phone need to stay on? Yes, and online. WhatsApp drops linked devices that go offline for around 14 days, and sending pauses as soon as the device unlinks.
Will my number get banned? It can be restricted if you message many people who never reply. Staying at or under 30 new conversations a day, keeping warm-up on, and writing messages people actually answer is what keeps the risk low. We cannot guarantee against it.
Can I use my personal number? You can, but do not. Use a dedicated business number — outreach and personal chats share the same reputation once linked.
How many messages a day is safe? Up to 30 new conversations a day, after a three-week ramp from 5. The setting allows up to 60 and warns you above 30.
Does the daily limit include replies? No. The cap counts new conversations. Continuing a conversation someone has already answered is not limited.
Can I turn warm-up off? Yes, and the number then sends its full cap from day one. On a new number, that is the fastest route to a restriction.
What's included in the $15? One connected number, unlimited messages and voice notes within your daily cap, warm-up, per-number analytics, and inbox plus CRM integration. There is no per-message charge.
What happens if I cancel a slot? The number unlinks, campaign steps using it pause, and the slot stays active until the end of the billing period. Existing conversations remain readable in the inbox.
Can several people share one number? Yes. Numbers are workspace-level and conversations are visible to the team in the Unified Inbox.
Can I send images, PDFs or links? Media and voice notes are supported as steps. Keep links out of the first message — a first touch that is mostly a link is the most reported kind.
Can I send the same message to a whole list? Not as a blast. WhatsApp steps run inside a sequence, per lead, inside your daily cap. That constraint is the feature.
What if the lead has no WhatsApp number? Put an "If WhatsApp number" condition before the step and route the Not found branch to email or LinkedIn.
Do WhatsApp replies show in the CRM? Yes. Threads appear in the Unified Inbox next to email and LinkedIn, carry a pipeline stage, and count as activity on the lead.
Why would I need a proxy? Most users do not. It exists for agencies running many client numbers who want to control where each session originates.
So you know where the edges are:
It is not the WhatsApp Business API, and there is no Business API migration path in v1.
We do not sell WhatsApp numbers. You bring your own.
It is not a broadcast or bulk-blast tool. There is no "send to 5,000 contacts" action, by design.
It is not a support inbox or a chatbot builder. No flows, no menus, no keyword autoresponders.
It does not support WhatsApp Groups, Channels, Status or catalogue features.
