WhatsApp is introducing usernames — a short @handle people can use to message you without either side sharing a phone number. There are actually two separate username settings, on different systems and different timelines, and mixing them up causes most of the confusion. Here is the honest picture.
Two separate usernames
- On your phone — WhatsApp Business app → Settings → Profile. If your number is still on the WhatsApp Business app on your phone (which is how most nashir numbers stay connected — you keep your phone app alongside nashir), you may already be able to set a username here. WhatsApp is rolling this out gradually and notifies you in the app when it is available for you.
- In WhatsApp Manager — the business / API side that nashir uses. This is a separate username with its own rollout, and it is also gated by business verification (see below). It commonly shows "Feature is unavailable for this account."
Because these are two different systems, you can successfully set a username on your phone and still see "unavailable" in WhatsApp Manager. That is normal — not a bug, and not something you did wrong.
Why WhatsApp Manager often says "unavailable"
The API / Manager username is offered first to verified, well-known businesses — those with an Official Business Account (the blue badge), Meta Verified, or a handle matching your approved Display Name or your Facebook / Instagram business handle. If your account is not OBA-verified (most are not yet), you will instead see a "Submit request" for an Official Business Account — that request has to be approved first. Until then, "unavailable" is the expected state.
If your Manager side IS eligible
Then you can reserve the API-side handle:
- Open WhatsApp Manager.
/ https://business.facebook.com/wa/manage/
- Go to Phone Numbers.
- Open Username and set your handle.
Username format: 3–35 characters; lowercase letters, numbers, periods (.) and underscores (_) only; at least one letter; no spaces; no "www" and no ".com"/".net" endings.
What to do now
- Want a username on your phone today? Check WhatsApp Business app → Settings → Profile — it may already be there for you.
- Seeing "unavailable" in WhatsApp Manager? Nothing is broken — that side is gated by rollout + verification and opens up later.
- Want the API-side handle early (and the blue badge)? Ask us about Official Business Account verification — a separate Meta process we can help you start as your provider.
- nashir keeps working either way. When a customer messages you using their username, your AI assistant and inbox still receive the conversation — some username customers may not show a phone number at first; that is expected, and we handle it.