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Whatsapp Contact Identity Changes: BSUID

WhatsApp Contact Identity Changes (BSUID)

Meta is introducing new identifiers for WhatsApp users as part of a broader effort to improve privacy and representation across their platforms. As users begin to adopt optional WhatsApp usernames, such as @TinaTextIt, to hide their phone numbers, businesses will move to using a backend identifier called a Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID) to track and message them.

New BSUID URNs

Your WhatsApp contacts may now include a new bsuid: URN. This holds the Business-Scoped User ID provided by Meta, which is a more stable identifier for a contact than a phone number. * Business-specific: These IDs are unique to your business. A BSUID from one account can't be moved to or used in another business's account. * Format: You can recognize these identifiers by their fixed structure: a two-letter country code followed by a long alphanumeric string (e.g., US.1a2b3c4d5e...).

TextIt handles this transition automatically. When a BSUID becomes available, it is added to the contact as a new URN, with no manual action required.

What’s Changing Next

Meta plans to support messaging using BSUIDs. Once that happens, bsuid: URNs will become the primary way WhatsApp contacts are identified. As part of this transition, we will automatically update the URNs in your account: 1. Existing bsuid: URNs: Once Meta fully supports sending messages to BSUIDs, bsuid: URNs will be converted into whatsapp: URNs. At that point, the bsuid: scheme will be removed, and the whatsapp: URN will store the BSUID value instead. 2. Current whatsapp: URNs: Current whatsapp: URNs, which are based on phone numbers, will be moved to tel: URNs.

TextIt handles this process entirely, and you won't need to make any manual updates.

These changes won’t affect how your queries or groups work. For example, expressions like whatsapp != "" will continue to match WhatsApp contacts as they do today, and your existing flows, campaigns and group definitions will keep working normally.

API Integrations

If your integration uses WhatsApp URNs (phone numbers) to identify contacts, update it to use the contact UUID instead. As identifiers shift away from phone numbers, the UUID will remain the most reliable way to reference contacts in the API.

Summary

Any impact is limited to new conversations started by users who have adopted usernames. Phone numbers will continue to be fully supported: existing contacts and outbound messages to known phone numbers will work as usual, with no changes required. TextIt handles all of these transitions, so you don't need to do anything.

Last updated 21 October 2026