A linked WhatsApp number is an ordinary WhatsApp account — on a phone, with its own chats and groups — that has also been linked to MakeHybrid the way WhatsApp Web is linked to a browser. The phone stays the account. The link lets the API read the number's chats and write in them as the number.
How it is linked
Ask the API for a link, open it on a computer, and scan the QR code it shows with the phone: WhatsApp, Settings, Linked devices, Link a device. The link lasts an hour and keeps the code fresh while it is open. Once scanned, the connection reports the number and its name.
curl -X POST https://makehybrid.com/whatsapp/v1/connection/link \ -H "X-API-KEY: $MAKEHYBRID_KEY"
What it can and cannot do
- Send a text to a person by phone number, or to a chat or a group by its chat id.
- Read the chats, with each one's last message and unread count, and read a chat's messages.
- Hear every message received or sent, as a signed webhook event.
- Not carry files: a picture or a document is marked as media, and the file itself stays on the phone.
Messages go out 10 to 20 seconds apart, the pace of a person typing. WhatsApp restricts numbers that send like a machine, and the pace is how a linked number stays linked.
Questions people ask
What happens if the phone is off?
Calls that need the number answer 409 not_online until WhatsApp is opened on the phone again. WhatsApp unlinks a device after about two weeks without the phone; link it again the same way.
Is it the same number as the WhatsApp channel of a project room?
Yes. Link it in either place and both have it; unlinking it in one unlinks it for both.