> ## 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.

# WhatsApp Business

> Connect a Photon SMS number to WhatsApp Business through Photon and complete verification without reading SMS history.

You can use a Photon SMS number for a WhatsApp Business connection managed through
Photon. Registration verifies the number with Meta; it does not turn the SMS
Inbox into a place to collect WhatsApp verification codes.

This guide covers **WhatsApp Business**, not
[personal WhatsApp](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/messaging/whatsapp.md). Personal WhatsApp is a separate
channel that is still in internal testing and is not yet released.

> [!WARNING]
>
> **Photon SMS numbers can only be registered for WhatsApp Business through
> Photon.** You cannot register them with another WhatsApp provider. WhatsApp
> Business registration OTPs are reserved for Photon connections and are not
> shown in SMS messaging histories, message-history API responses, or inbound
> SMS message events.

## Connect your Photon number

Photon-provided iMessage numbers are not eligible for this flow. Their WhatsApp
registration is reserved for personal WhatsApp, so they cannot be registered with
WhatsApp Business through Photon or another provider. Use an eligible Photon SMS
number instead.

1. Open your project's **WhatsApp Business** page in the Photon dashboard.
2. Choose **Use a Photon SMS number** and select the number from your project.
3. Complete the connection flow in Photon:
   * **Connecting a new WhatsApp Business Account:** follow Meta's signup window.
     If Meta requests an SMS verification code, Photon displays the received code
     in the setup panel. Enter it in Meta's window and finish setup there.
   * **Adding a number to an account already connected to Photon:** Photon
     handles the SMS verification and registration automatically. You do not
     need to retrieve or forward a code.

If your integration adds numbers programmatically to an already-connected
account, use [Create WhatsApp VoIP sender](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/api-client/sdk/projects/platforms/create-whatsapp-voip-sender.md).
For a custom Photon onboarding flow that needs the code during Meta signup, use
the [WhatsApp Business verification-code API](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/api-client/sdk/projects/platforms/get-whatsapp-business-verification-code.md),
not SMS history. That API is for completing Photon connections, not for
registering Photon numbers with other providers. Treat a returned code as an
authentication secret; never put it in logs or analytics.

## Why the code is missing from SMS history

Photon separates WhatsApp Business registration codes from normal SMS
conversations. A code can arrive and be used by the Photon connection flow
without ever appearing as an SMS message in your application. Removing general
OTP filtering from SMS numbers does not change this reservation.

See [SMS verification-code handling](https://docs.photon.codes/docs/beta/messaging/sms.md#whatsapp-business-codes-are-not-ordinary-sms-messages)
for what to expect in the Inbox, history API, and inbound events.

## Using another WhatsApp provider

You cannot use a Photon-provided SMS number to register WhatsApp Business with
another provider, even if a code was displayed during Photon's setup flow. Use a
number obtained independently of Photon and check that provider's requirements
instead. This restriction concerns Photon-provided numbers, not numbers you
independently own and bring to Photon.


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