1. Conversation Ownership Flow
To understand WhatsApp conversation ownership, we first need to understand WhatsApp Phone Number ownership.
WhatsApp phone numbers are managed from the following screen: Settings → Communication Hub Settings → WhatsApp Tab → Phone Numbers
On this screen, each WhatsApp account’s connected phone numbers are listed. Each phone number can be assigned in one of three ways:
1. Company wide
2. Branch wide
3. User
These assignments do not decide who can read a conversation. They decide who is allowed to write messages / take action using that WhatsApp phone number.
Important note: There is no restriction on reading WhatsApp messages. Users can read conversations within the inboxes they have access to.
Restrictions apply only to writing messages or joining/taking over a conversation.
1.1 Company Wide Phone Number
If a WhatsApp phone number is assigned as Company wide, all users within that company can use this number.
These users can:
* Send messages using this number.
* Start new conversations.
* Join an existing conversation.
* Take ownership of a conversation.
Summary: A Company wide number is a shared WhatsApp number that all users in the company can use for messaging.
1.2 Branch Wide Phone Number
If a WhatsApp phone number is assigned as Branch wide, only users who belong to that branch can write messages using this number.
Users from other branches in the same company:
* Cannot send messages using this number.
* Cannot start new conversations using this number.
* Cannot join or take over an existing conversation using this number.
However:
* They can still read these conversations.
* They can view the message history.
Summary: A Branch wide number is a WhatsApp number that only users in the assigned branch can use for messaging. Users from other branches may be able to read the conversation, but they cannot write using that number.
1.3 User Assigned Phone Number
If a WhatsApp phone number is assigned directly to a user, only that user can send messages using this number.
Other users:
* Cannot send messages using this number.
* Cannot start conversations using this number.
* Cannot join or take over conversations using this number.
However:
* They can still read the conversation.
* They can view the message history.
Summary: A User assigned number behaves like a personal WhatsApp number for that user. Only the assigned user can write using it.
2. How Is the Conversation Owner Decided?
The owner of a conversation is the last authorised user who sent an outbound message in that conversation. In other words, if a user sends a message in a conversation using a WhatsApp phone number they are allowed to use, the conversation is automatically moved under that user’s ownership.
Rule: If an authorised user sends a message in a conversation using the conversation’s WhatsApp phone number, that user becomes the owner of the conversation.
This allows conversation ownership to move naturally from one user to another.
Example:
1. The conversation initially belongs to Ahmet.
2. Mehmet is also allowed to write using the same WhatsApp number.
3. Mehmet sends a message in the conversation.
4. The conversation now belongs to Mehmet.
This is expected behaviour. Conversation ownership is not fixed. It moves to the user who actively takes action in the conversation.
2.1 Message Ownership Inside a Conversation
The overall conversation owner can change, but each individual message still keeps its own sender/owner.
For example:
* The conversation may currently belong to Mehmet.
* Previous messages written by Ahmet still belong to Ahmet.
* Messages written by Mehmet belong to Mehmet.
* Customer messages are shown as inbound messages.
Summary: The conversation owner can change, but the individual ownership of each message does not change.
3. Pending Conversation / Pending Message Logic
With the new logic, whether a conversation has read or unread messages is no longer the main deciding factor.
Instead of relying on the old unread/read logic, the system now looks at this question: Who is this conversation currently waiting for?
Because of this, conversations can appear in one of three main pending states:
1. Me
2. Team
3. Customer
4. Me Inbox
The Me inbox shows conversations where the customer has replied and the conversation is now waiting for my action.
The general logic for a conversation to appear in the Me inbox is:
* The conversation belongs to me.
* The last meaningful message came from the customer.
* Therefore, the system considers that the conversation is waiting for my reply.
Summary: Me inbox = The customer replied, the conversation belongs to me, and I am expected to respond.
Example:
1. I send a WhatsApp message to the customer.
2. The conversation moves under my ownership.
3. The customer replies.
4. The conversation now appears in the Me inbox because it is waiting for my response.
5. Team Inbox
The Team inbox shows conversations where the customer has replied, but the conversation does not belong to me. In this case, the conversation belongs to someone else in the team, and the last action came from the customer. This means the conversation is not waiting specifically for my personal action. It is waiting for someone in the team, usually the current conversation owner or another authorised user, to respond.
Summary: Team inbox = The customer replied, but the conversation does not belong to me. Someone in the team needs to respond.
Example:
1. The conversation belongs to Mehmet.
2. The customer replies.
3. I can see the conversation, but I am not the owner.
4. For me, this conversation appears in the Team inbox. If I am allowed to write using the WhatsApp phone number of that conversation and I send a message:
* The conversation moves under my ownership.
* It becomes my conversation.
* Future pending states are calculated based on this new ownership.
6. Customer Inbox
The Customer inbox shows conversations where I have sent a message and the customer has not replied yet.
The general logic for a conversation to appear in the Customer inbox is:
* The conversation belongs to me.
* I sent the latest outbound message.
* The customer has not replied yet.
* Therefore, the conversation is waiting for the customer’s action.
Summary: Customer inbox = I sent a message, the customer has not replied yet, and the conversation is waiting for the customer.
Example:
1. I send a WhatsApp message to the customer.
2. The conversation moves under my ownership.
3. The customer has not replied yet.
4. The conversation appears in the Customer inbox.
7. Other Conversation Views
The Me, Team and Customer inboxes show who the conversation is currently waiting for. There are also broader conversation views outside these pending inboxes.
7.1 My Inbox My Inbox shows all conversations that belong to me. These conversations may currently be waiting for me, waiting for the customer, or may already be finalised.
Summary: My Inbox = All conversations owned by me.
7.2 Branch Inbox
The Branch view shows conversations that belong to the relevant branch. This view allows users to monitor conversations connected to their branch in a broader way.
Summary: Branch = All conversations connected to the branch.
7.3 Company Inbox
The Company view shows conversations that belong to the company. This is the broadest conversation view.
Summary: Company = All conversations connected to the company.
8. User Filter
The user filter allows users to select a specific user and view that user’s conversations. This is especially useful for managers.
For example:
* You can see which conversations a specific agent is handling.
* You can check which conversations are waiting for a customer response for a specific user.
* You can check which conversations are waiting for that user to respond.
Summary: The user filter allows conversations to be reviewed based on a specific user’s ownership.
9. Finalise Conversation Logic
Some conversations may technically look like they are waiting for someone’s action, even though the conversation is actually complete in real life.
Example:
1. A user asks the customer for some information.
2. The customer replies: “Okay.”
3. Since the latest message came from the customer, the system may mark the conversation as waiting for the user.
4. However, in reality, the conversation is finished.
In this case, the user can finalise the conversation.
A finalised conversation:
* Is removed from the Me inbox.
* Is removed from the Team inbox.
* Is removed from the Customer inbox.
* No longer behaves like a pending conversation.
* Is not deleted.
A finalised conversation can still be found in the general conversation views:
* My Inbox
* Branch
* Company
* User filter results
Summary: Finalise removes the conversation from pending work lists. The conversation is not deleted. It is simply treated as no longer waiting for action.
10. How Does a Finalised Conversation Become Active Again?
If a finalised conversation later receives a new message, or if a user sends another message in that conversation, it becomes active again and is included in the pending logic.
Example:
1. The conversation is finalised.
2. Some time later, the customer sends another message.
3. The conversation appears again in the relevant pending inbox.
Or:
1. The conversation is finalised.
2. The user sends another message to the customer.
3. The conversation may appear in the Customer inbox because it is now waiting for the customer to reply.
Summary: Finalise is not a permanent close. If there is new message activity, the conversation enters the pending flow again.
11. Important Notes
11.1 Read Permission and Write Permission Are Different
Being able to see a conversation does not always mean the user can send messages in that conversation.
Write permission is controlled by the WhatsApp phone number assignment.
The place to check is: Settings → Communication Hub Settings → WhatsApp Tab → Phone Numbers
11.2 Conversation Ownership Is Not Manually Fixed
The conversation owner can change depending on which authorised user sends a message. Therefore, a conversation owner changing is not necessarily an error. The expected behaviour is: If an authorised user sends a message in the conversation, ownership moves to that user.
11.3 Unread Is Not the Main Deciding Factor
Whether a conversation is read or unread is not the main data point used to determine the pending inboxes.
The system now checks: Who sent the last action, and who is the conversation currently waiting for?
11.4 Difference Between Me and Team
Me means the customer has replied in a conversation that belongs to me, and I need to respond. Team means the customer has replied, but the conversation does not belong to me.
Simple explanation:
* Me = A conversation I need to respond to.
* Team = A conversation someone in the team needs to respond to.
* Customer = A conversation where we are waiting for the customer to respond.
11.5 Finalise Is Not Delete A finalised conversation is not deleted. It is only removed from the pending conversation lists. The conversation history can still be found in the broader inbox views.
12. Quick Summary
WhatsApp conversation ownership is determined by phone number assignment and by which authorised user writes in the conversation.
Phone numbers can be assigned in three ways:
* Company wide
* Branch wide
* User
These assignments do not decide who can read the conversation. They decide who can send messages using that WhatsApp phone number. When an authorised user sends a message in a conversation, that user becomes the new owner of the conversation.
In the pending message logic, unread/read status is not the key factor. What matters is who the conversation is currently waiting for. There are three main pending inboxes:
* Me: The customer replied, the conversation belongs to me, and I need to respond.
* Team: The customer replied, the conversation does not belong to me, and someone in the team should respond.
* Customer: I sent a message, the customer has not replied yet, and we are waiting for the customer.
A finalised conversation is removed from the pending inboxes but is not deleted. If there is new message activity, it becomes active again and re-enters the pending flow.