Part 2 · Set up
Your phone number
Asked once after you sign in, so we can reach you about your account on WhatsApp or by text. Remove it in Settings at any time.
01What it is
A new account sees one screen after signing in that asks for a phone number. Usually you can skip it; the admin can make it required for accounts made from then on. Settings, Account is where you add, change or remove it.
02Why it exists
A message on WhatsApp is read when an email is not, and the moments that matter on a new account (a channel waiting for your yes, a plan that needs one answer) are worth reaching you quickly for.
There is no box to tick: the terms and the privacy page say we may contact you there, and the line under the field links them. Removing the number is the way to stop, and it takes effect at once.
03How to use it
- 01Type the number with + and your country code, for example +44 7700 900123. Spaces, dashes and brackets are fine; 00 in place of + works too.
- 02Press Skip for now if you would rather not. You are not asked again, and Settings, Account has the field whenever you want it.
- 03To stop messages, remove the number in Settings, Account. Deleting your account deletes it too.
04What good looks like
- You give it
- A new account types "0044 7700-900123" on the phone screen.
- You get
- It is saved as +447700900123 and setup carries on to the plan.
- Why
- normalisePhone turns 00 into + and keeps only digits, then checks the E.164 shape.
Derived from the rules in the code
05What weak looks like, and what it costs
- You give it
- A new account types "07700 900123", with no country code.
- You get
- The screen says the number is not complete and asks for + and the country code. Nothing is saved.
- Why
- Without a country code there is no way to tell which country the number is in, so a WhatsApp message could reach a stranger.
Derived from the rules in the code