Multiple numbers

Several WhatsApp numbers, several agents, and no phones passed around

How teams share WhatsApp numbers today and where that breaks down. MyCRM's WhatsApp connection is coming soon; Telegram is ready in the same panel today.

Where things stand

You cannot connect a WhatsApp number to MyCRM yet. That part is in development. The multi-number setup described below works in the panel today for Telegram, and the WhatsApp sections are general information.

Why phones and shared logins stop working

In a small team it usually starts like this: the sales number lives on one phone, the support number on another, and WhatsApp Web stays open on a few computers. Then these problems show up:

One person has the phone. When they are on leave, the number is effectively closed.
Nobody knows who replied. Five people write from the same number, and neither the customer nor the manager can tell who sent a message.
Everyone sees everything. Whoever opens WhatsApp Web has every chat and every customer phone number on that line. You cannot limit someone to their own customers.
The same customer gets two answers, or everyone assumes someone else has replied and nobody does.
Login details travel. Sharing the registration code or the two-step verification PIN with the team means sharing control of the number.

Linked devices and their limits

WhatsApp's "Linked devices" feature lets you use the account from your phone in a browser or the desktop app. The rules worth knowing:

An account can have up to four linked devices besides the phone. The WhatsApp Business app has the same limit.
Linked devices keep working while the phone is offline. Even so, if WhatsApp is not opened on the primary phone for about 14 days, the linked devices are logged out. The phone cannot be left in a drawer.
A newly linked device receives only recent history. Older conversations may not all arrive.
The phone owns the account. The list of linked devices is visible there, and a device can be removed there with one tap.

Four devices sounds like enough for a small team, but every browser takes a slot and each one shows the entire number.

What a shared panel changes

With a shared panel the number is connected once, and team members sign in to the panel rather than to the number. It uses a single slot in the linked devices list, so the head count no longer depends on that limit.

Topic	Phone and WhatsApp Web	Shared panel
Sign-in	Everyone as the same number	Everyone with their own email and password
Visibility	Every chat on the number	Only assigned numbers and chats
Chat owner	Unclear	Every chat has an assignee
Several numbers	Switching between devices and tabs	All numbers in one list
Record	None	Who did what, in an audit log
Leaving staff	Find the session and log it out	Close the membership

When someone leaves

Numbers are most fragile on the day an employee leaves. Whatever tool you use, work through this list:

Keep the SIM and the phone the number is registered on with the company. Do not set up work numbers on personal lines.
Open Settings → Linked devices on the phone and remove sessions you do not recognise or no longer use.
Only the person responsible for the number should know the two-step verification PIN and the recovery email.
Hand the leaver's chats to someone else, with open promises written down in notes.
Do not let agents save customer numbers to their personal contacts.

With a shared panel, steps two and four get shorter: you close the membership and reassign the chats.

What MyCRM plans to offer

When WhatsApp launches, you will connect each number from the app on its phone, by QR code or pairing code. The phone stays with you and will need to come online from time to time. The numbers will appear in the same shared inbox as Telegram numbers, and team permissions will be set per number: who sees which number, who can only read, who sees only the chats assigned to them. There will be no bulk messaging to people who have not written to you.

The same permission model works for Telegram numbers today: start with Telegram.

FAQ

How many people can use one WhatsApp number at the same time? With WhatsApp's own tools, the phone plus up to four linked devices. A shared panel uses one slot, and its membership decides how many people can reply.

Does the phone have to stay switched on? No. Linked devices work while the phone is off. But if WhatsApp is not opened on the primary phone for about 14 days, the linked devices are logged out, so the phone has to come online now and then.

Will my old chats appear in the panel? Not all of them. WhatsApp syncs only recent history to a newly linked device. Messages that arrive after linking are shown in full.

Can I connect a WhatsApp number to MyCRM today? No. The WhatsApp connection is coming soon. Today you can connect Telegram numbers in the same panel.