WhatsApp shared inbox for multiple numbers: Every store, branch and team number, in one inbox.
Each chat shows the number it came in on, gets an owner, and is answered from that same number.
The list
One list, marked by number.
- One list: every linked number’s chats together, latest first.
- A stripe per number: each row shows the number the chat arrived on.
- Replies match: the answer leaves from the number the customer wrote to.
- Filter by number: narrow the list to one store’s or branch’s chats.
How a number connects
- In the dashboard, add the number and give it a label you’ll recognise, such as a store or team name.
- On its phone, open WhatsApp’s Linked devices (the three-dot menu on Android, Settings on iPhone), tap Link a device and scan the code the dashboard shows.
- Repeat for every number. Its chats and groups join the same list, striped by number.
- Decide who reaches each number, and at which level: see per-number access.
- Invite people in the roles you choose. You share each invitation link yourself; it works once, expires in seven days and is never written to a server log.
Each linked number takes one of the four linked-device places on its WhatsApp account; WhatsApp linked devices limits explains the limit, and connecting a number with Linked devices walks through the link.
Juggling numbers on one phone instead? See multiple WhatsApp accounts on one phone or PC, and WhatsApp Business with multiple users for several people on one number.
Ownership
An owner for every conversation.
- Assigned your way: round-robin within each team, or by hand.
- Hand-offs keep notes: managers and team leaders pass a chat on with its notes.
- Typing shows live: so two people don’t answer the same customer.
- Chats stay: when someone leaves, their chats remain, with notes and labels.
Round-robin, like the rest of the inbox, is on Growth and Enterprise.
Inside a conversation
Shared queue. A chat no one owns waits there until it is assigned.
Replies. Text, photos, documents, video, voice notes, a location or a contact card.
Quick replies. Saved once for the workspace and recalled by typing a slash; see WhatsApp Business quick replies.
Internal notes. Written for the team, and never sent to the customer.
On a message. React, reply, forward or copy it; edit or delete your own text while WhatsApp allows.
Labels. Added to a chat, and used to filter the list.
Live updates. New messages appear as they arrive; after a dropped connection, the inbox fills in what it missed.
Unread counts. They move both ways: clear a chat on the phone and it clears here too.
Delivery states. Sending, Sent, Delivered, Read, Played or Failed, on every message; a failed one carries its error.
My service is due. Any slot on Tuesday?
Let me check Tuesday’s slots for you.
Tuesday 11:00 is free. Over to Joseph to book it in.
AI replies
Answers, set per team.
- Set per team: automatic answers, AI drafts for review, or off.
- Keyword replies: a saved answer goes out when a message matches.
- A chatbot for set flows: it takes customers through the steps you set.
On Growth and Enterprise, with AI credits included; more on request.
North sales
AI writes a draft; someone checks it and sends it.
Service team
Keyword replies, the chatbot and AI answer on their own.
Store managers
Nothing automatic for this team.
Access
A role sets the work.
A number sets the reach.
Both are checked on WavesFlo’s servers, so a chat outside someone’s reach is simply not there for them.
| Role | Sees | Can do |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Every conversation | Every action. Only Admins link numbers, connect a CRM, change workspace settings or change roles. |
| Manager | Every conversation | Reply, assign and hand chats on, and manage the inbox’s own settings. |
| Team leader | Their own and their teams’ chats | Reply, and hand chats on within their teams. |
| Agent | Only chats assigned to them | Reply and add notes. |
| Viewer | Every conversation | Read only: no reply, assignment or change of state. |
The audit trail records who changed roles, members, teams and number access, and when.
Per-number access
Choose who reaches each number.
- Open or restricted: a number is open to everyone, or to the teams and people you name.
- See or operate: read its chats, or reply, send and assign as that number.
- See-only is read-only: the chat opens, and the reply box is not there.
| Team or person | Level |
|---|---|
| North sales | Operate |
| Meera Pillai | Operate |
| Service team | View |
Operate: see its chats and act as it, to reply, send and assign. View: see its chats only.
Retention
You decide what the inbox remembers.
Keep message content for 30, 90, 180 or 365 days, forever, or not at all, and choose which attachments are stored.
Details about retention and attachments
- default
- 365 days, until you choose another period.
- when it expires
- The content is cleared and the message stays, so a thread shows what happened without keeping what was said.
- turning it off
- Stops new content being written; what is already stored keeps the expiry it was written with.
- attachments
- Everything, documents and images, images only, or nothing; a thread still records that a file arrived.
- file size
- 16 MB per file, inbound and outbound alike.
- media links
- Served from signed links that expire within two hours, never from a public path.
Limits
What the inbox won’t do.
Stated up front.
Some are WhatsApp’s rules and some are how the inbox works.
whatsapp’s rule
Restricted chats stay on the phone.
WhatsApp’s Restricted chat setting keeps a chat off linked devices, so it doesn’t reach the inbox.
whatsapp’s rule
History starts when a number is linked.
WhatsApp doesn’t hand over earlier messages, so a thread begins at the first connection.
by design
Search reads names, numbers and the latest message.
Not the whole history: a phrase from six months ago won’t turn up.
by design
Sending limits apply to every number.
Replies typed in the inbox count toward a number’s daily allowance.
Details about the limits
Archive, pin and mute stay here. They organise the inbox for your team and aren’t pushed back to the phone.
Editing and deleting run on WhatsApp’s clock. Your own text can be edited for about fifteen minutes and deleted for everyone for about two days.
Restricted chat is new. It is rolling out on WhatsApp’s latest app version as of October 2026; a group’s admins, or either person in a one-to-one chat, can turn it on.
A typed reply goes out at once. It passes the opt-out list, the emergency pause and the number’s daily allowance, but skips quiet hours, sending days and the per-person cooldown.
What teams ask about a shared inbox.
All questionsCan several people answer one WhatsApp number?
Yes. The number is linked once, and everyone with access works it under their own login, with one owner for each chat. See how to assign WhatsApp chats.
How many WhatsApp numbers can one inbox hold?
Up to 250 on Growth and up to 50,000 on Enterprise, subject to plan, all in the same list. On Enterprise, numbers are set in your quote; see WavesFlo Enterprise.
Does it reply on its own?
Yes, for the teams you choose: on automatic answers, keyword replies, the chatbot and AI answer on their own; on AI drafts, someone checks and sends each draft. A person can always take over. On Growth and Enterprise.
Does the phone keep working once its number is linked?
Yes. It is linked from WhatsApp’s Linked devices screen, like WhatsApp Web, and carries on as before. Open it at least once every 14 days to stay linked.
Can I reply in WhatsApp groups from the inbox?
Yes. Groups from every linked number sit in the same list, and a reply leaves from the number the group is on. Groups are joined on the phone.
What does the shared inbox cost?
It is on Growth and Enterprise. Growth is ₹2,999 per session a month with one team member and one number, then ₹499 per extra team member and ₹999 per extra number; Enterprise is quoted on volume. Messages are not metered. See pricing.