> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.photon.codes/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Use Stable documentation by default. Honor an explicit Beta request or a URL under /docs/beta/. If the requested version conflicts with the installed CLI package or API origin, clarify the target before writing integration code.
> Pages under /docs/beta/ document Beta; other product pages document Stable. Keep the CLI package, commands, API origin, and credentials within the selected version. State the documentation version in your answer.
> For MCP search, always pass version: Stable or version: Beta. Unfiltered search mixes both versions. For filesystem reads, keep Beta queries under /beta/ and exclude /beta/ from Stable queries; discover paths before reading them.
> The public docs base is https://photon.codes/docs. Convert MCP page paths to public URLs under that base, preserving /beta/ when present. Read https://photon.codes/docs/skill.md for version selection and https://photon.codes/docs/llms.txt for the version indexes.

# SMS

> Understand why WhatsApp Business verification codes are excluded from SMS history and reserved for Photon connections.

A Photon SMS number receives text messages for your project. If you also want to
use that number for WhatsApp Business, connect it through Photon rather than
registering it with another provider.

For short-code limits, OTP filtering by line type, and guidance on third-party
account registration, read [SMS best practices](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/best-practices/sms.md).

To send SMS to US numbers, a number needs an approved 10DLC campaign. If a
review rejects your campaign, follow
[Fix a rejected 10DLC campaign](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/messaging/sms/10dlc).

> [!WARNING]
>
> **WhatsApp Business registration on Photon SMS numbers is reserved for Photon
> connections.**
> You cannot register a Photon SMS number for WhatsApp Business with another
> provider. WhatsApp Business registration codes are not shown in the number's
> SMS messaging history.

## WhatsApp Business codes are not ordinary SMS messages

When Meta sends a WhatsApp Business registration one-time passcode (OTP) to a
Photon SMS number, Photon handles it separately from ordinary messages. The code
does not appear in the SMS Inbox, message-history API responses, or inbound SMS
message events delivered to your application.

This is intentional: the code is reserved for setting up a WhatsApp Business
connection through Photon. Its absence from SMS history does not, by itself,
indicate an SMS delivery failure. Do not poll SMS history or wait for a message
webhook to retrieve it.

This exception does **not** mean that every SMS containing a verification code is
hidden. General OTP filtering has been removed from Photon SMS numbers; the
WhatsApp Business registration-code reservation remains.

## Use the number for WhatsApp Business through Photon

In your project's **WhatsApp Business** page, choose **Use a Photon SMS number**.
Photon handles verification during setup. If Meta's signup window asks you to
enter an SMS code, the Photon setup panel displays it there, not in SMS history.

Follow the [WhatsApp Business connection guide](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/messaging/whatsapp-business.md)
for the supported setup flow. Receiving or viewing a code during that flow does
not make the number available for registration with another WhatsApp provider.

If you need to use another WhatsApp provider, use a number obtained independently
of Photon and follow that provider's number requirements.


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