# How to run a shared WhatsApp inbox for your team

> How several people can answer one WhatsApp Business number: the app's linked devices versus a shared inbox, team rules, AI first, and the 24-hour window.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/blog/shared-whatsapp-inbox
Last updated: 2026-11-05

WhatsApp guides · by The HeyKiko team · published 5 November 2026 · 7 min read

A team can share one WhatsApp Business number in two ways: link devices to the WhatsApp Business app (up to four, or up to ten with multi-agent on a Meta Verified or Meta One subscription), or connect the number to the WhatsApp Business Platform and answer from a shared inbox where everyone has their own sign-in. Either way, the habits matter as much as the tool: one owner per chat, a reply target, and an AI agent answering first so the team only handles what needs a person.

## Why one shared phone doesn't work

- Only one person can hold it at a time, and messages wait while it's in someone's pocket.
- Nobody knows who's answering what, so customers get two replies, or none.
- There's no record of who said what to a customer, or who promised what.
- When the person with the phone is off, so is your WhatsApp.

## Two ways to share a WhatsApp number

Sharing a WhatsApp Business number: the app's linked devices versus a shared inbox on the Business Platform

|  | WhatsApp Business app, linked devices | Business Platform, shared inbox |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How many people | Up to 4 linked devices and the phone; up to 10 devices with multi-agent on Meta Verified or Meta One | Set by the inbox tool, each person with their own sign-in |
| Assigning chats | With multi-agent | Yes |
| If the phone isn't used | Linked devices log out after more than 14 days | No phone involved |
| AI answering first | No | Yes, with an AI agent connected |
| Other channels in the same list | No | Depends on the tool; some add Telegram and website chat |

[WhatsApp: about linked devices](https://faq.whatsapp.com/647349420360876) · [WhatsApp: about multi-agent](https://faq.whatsapp.com/395911122612120) · [WhatsApp Business app vs API](https://heykiko.io/blog/whatsapp-business-app-vs-api)

## What a good shared inbox does

- Every chat in one list, showing who's answering and what's unread.
- A view of who's waiting for a person, so nobody waits unseen.
- Assigning a chat to one person, and seeing your own.
- The whole conversation in front of whoever replies, so customers never repeat themselves.
- Replies that go out on the customer's own channel.
- Alerts that reach the right person when a customer needs them.

## Ground rules for the team

- One owner per chat: assign it, and the owner replies until it's done or handed on.
- A reply target, such as 15 minutes in opening hours, and an alert when it's missed.
- Write as the business, in one tone; sign with a first name if you like.
- Promise only what you can deliver: refunds and exceptions go to whoever decides them.
- Close the loop: hand the chat back to the AI or close it when you're done.

## AI first, people when needed

Most messages are the same everyday questions. An AI agent can answer those at any hour, so the team only sees the chats that need a person: someone asking for one, a question the knowledge doesn't cover, a complaint.

1. **The AI answers**: From your own information, in the customer's language.
2. **It hands over**: When the customer asks for a person or it can't help, the chat waits in the inbox for the team.
3. **A person replies**: And the AI stays quiet in that chat while they do.
4. **Back to the AI**: When the person's done, the AI picks up again, having read what they said.

[When to hand a chat to a person](https://heykiko.io/blog/when-to-hand-a-chat-to-a-person)

## Mind the 24-hour window

On the WhatsApp Business Platform, you can reply freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that, only an approved template message can reach them, so a chat left too long in the inbox can no longer get a normal reply. A reply target well inside 24 hours avoids it. [Meta: customer service windows](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/guides/send-messages#customer-service-windows) · [The WhatsApp 24-hour window, explained](https://heykiko.io/blog/whatsapp-24-hour-window)

## What to watch

- How long customers wait for a person, at the busiest times.
- Chats nobody owns.
- Why chats are handed over: if one question keeps coming, add the answer to the AI's knowledge.
- Chats close to the end of their 24-hour window.

## In HeyKiko

1. **Connect your number**: Through Meta's Cloud API, so nobody passes a phone around; website chat and Telegram join the same inbox.
2. **Bring in your team**: Add or invite people in Settings › Team; each has their own sign-in and chooses their own alerts.
3. **Set your hand-off**: Send every hand-off to one person, or whoever replies first, and get told if nobody replies after a few minutes.
4. **Work from Needs you and Mine**: Reply on the customer's channel, which pauses Kiko for that chat, then hand it back or close it.

> The inbox runs in the browser on a computer or a phone; there's no separate app yet. It refreshes every few seconds rather than streaming, and checks the 24-hour window before a WhatsApp reply is sent. [Shared inbox in HeyKiko](https://heykiko.io/features/shared-inbox)

## Sources

Checked on 5 November 2026. We make HeyKiko, which this guide uses as its example; Meta’s rules apply to every tool.

- [WhatsApp: about linked devices on the WhatsApp Business app](https://faq.whatsapp.com/647349420360876)
- [WhatsApp: about multi-agent](https://faq.whatsapp.com/395911122612120)
- [Meta: customer service windows](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/guides/send-messages#customer-service-windows)

## Questions people ask

### Can several people use the same WhatsApp Business number?

Yes. The WhatsApp Business app allows up to four linked devices plus the phone, or up to ten with multi-agent on a Meta Verified or Meta One subscription. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a shared inbox gives each person their own sign-in.

### What is a shared WhatsApp inbox?

One place where a team answers the same WhatsApp number together: every chat in one list, assigned to one person, with the whole conversation in front of whoever replies.

### What happens to linked devices if the phone isn't used?

WhatsApp says linked devices log out if the primary phone isn't used for more than 14 days.

### How do I stop two people answering the same customer?

Assign each chat to one person, and have them reply until it's done or handed on. A shared inbox shows who owns each chat.

### Can AI and my team share an inbox?

Yes. The AI answers first and hands chats that need a person to the team; when someone replies, the AI stays quiet in that chat until it's handed back.

### What if a customer waits more than 24 hours?

On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a free-text reply can't reach them after 24 hours since their last message; only an approved template can. Set a reply target well inside that.

## Related

- [Shared inbox in HeyKiko](https://heykiko.io/features/shared-inbox)
- [Human hand-off](https://heykiko.io/features/human-handoff)
- [When to hand a chat to a person](https://heykiko.io/blog/when-to-hand-a-chat-to-a-person)
- [WhatsApp Business app vs API](https://heykiko.io/blog/whatsapp-business-app-vs-api)
- [All guides](https://heykiko.io/blog)