Feature summary
Problem: Meta has announced a major update for 2026 regarding how users are identified on WhatsApp. The introduction of "Usernames" and "Business-Scoped User IDs" (BSUID) means that phone numbers (wa_id) will become optional and, in many cases, will be omitted from payloads to prioritize privacy.
Question: Is the community or the core team already working on a solution for this? I'm looking to understand if there is a planned roadmap or any existing development branches/PRs addressing these changes.
Benefit: Proactively ensuring that whatsapp-web.js remains compatible with these protocol changes before the full rollout in May 2026. If the library relies solely on phone numbers for session management or message routing, it may break once usernames become the standard for user identification.
Ideal solution or implementation
I would like to know if there is a plan to:
Update Data Models: To support user_id (BSUID) and username properties in the Contact and Message classes.
Handle ID Transition: Implement logic to prioritize BSUID when wa_id is null or omitted.
If no work has started yet, is there a specific architectural direction the maintainers would like to see for a contribution?Alternatives / Additional context
Meta's official documentation states that BSUIDs will start appearing in April 2026. While this documentation is technically for the Cloud API, these changes usually propagate to the WhatsApp Web/Multi-device protocol shortly after.
Checklist
Feature summary
Problem: Meta has announced a major update for 2026 regarding how users are identified on WhatsApp. The introduction of "Usernames" and "Business-Scoped User IDs" (BSUID) means that phone numbers (wa_id) will become optional and, in many cases, will be omitted from payloads to prioritize privacy.
Question: Is the community or the core team already working on a solution for this? I'm looking to understand if there is a planned roadmap or any existing development branches/PRs addressing these changes.
Benefit: Proactively ensuring that whatsapp-web.js remains compatible with these protocol changes before the full rollout in May 2026. If the library relies solely on phone numbers for session management or message routing, it may break once usernames become the standard for user identification.
Ideal solution or implementation
I would like to know if there is a plan to: Update Data Models: To support user_id (BSUID) and username properties in the Contact and Message classes. Handle ID Transition: Implement logic to prioritize BSUID when wa_id is null or omitted. If no work has started yet, is there a specific architectural direction the maintainers would like to see for a contribution?Alternatives / Additional context
Meta's official documentation states that BSUIDs will start appearing in April 2026. While this documentation is technically for the Cloud API, these changes usually propagate to the WhatsApp Web/Multi-device protocol shortly after.
Checklist