A shared WhatsApp inbox, also called a WhatsApp team inbox, lets several people answer one WhatsApp number from their own logins, so customers keep writing to a single number while the team works from the same list of chats. It differs from WhatsApp Business linked devices, which put one account on a few screens with no separate logins or permissions. A team needs one when two or more people answer the same number and start missing chats or answering the same customer twice.
The rest of this guide covers how it works, what changes compared with linked devices, what your customers see, and how to tell whether you need one yet.
How does a shared inbox connect to WhatsApp?
There are two routes, and they decide most of what you get.
- Your own number as a linked device: you scan a QR code, the way you do for WhatsApp Web, and the inbox joins the number as a companion. Your phone keeps working, and your chats and groups stay.
- The WhatsApp Business API: you apply through a provider, usually on a dedicated number, send pre-approved templates to start conversations and pay Meta per template message.
How is it different from WhatsApp Business multi-device?
WhatsApp's linked devices let one account run on up to four extra screens. That is good for one person with a phone and a laptop, but every screen is the same account. Handing those screens to a team gives you several people behind one identity, with nothing to separate who can see or do what.
| Linked devices | Shared inbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs in | One account on each screen | Each person with their own login |
| Limit on people | Up to four linked screens | Set by the product and plan |
| Permissions | Everyone sees everything | Set per person |
| Who replied | You have to ask | Recorded inside the team |
| Internal notes | Not available | Notes customers never see |
| Cost | Free | Paid, by seat or flat |
The standard linked-device setup. WhatsApp also sells a paid multi-agent option; see the guide on sharing a Business account.
Related: WhatsApp Business on multiple devices · How to share a WhatsApp Business account with your team
When does a team need one?
These are the usual signs:
- Two people answer the same customer, or each assumes the other one did.
- A chat goes quiet because nobody is sure whose it is.
- You pass a phone around the office, or share the login on a shared computer.
- New staff can see every private and financial conversation on day one because there is no way to limit it.
- When someone leaves, you have no clean way to take their access back.
If one person handles every chat, you do not need this yet. The free WhatsApp Business app with a linked laptop does that job well.
What do customers see?
Nothing changes for them. They keep writing to the same number and see your business number, not the name of the person who replied, and they get no notice that your team now uses an inbox. Your team sees who sent what internally.
What should a good shared inbox have?
- A login per person with roles, so you can limit who sees what.
- A way to see that a colleague is already in a chat or typing, before you answer the same customer.
- Internal notes with mentions, so handovers do not happen on a separate app.
- A fair way to share out new chats, and a timer that shows which customers are waiting too long.
- A price you can predict as the team grows.
How does Spun do it?
Spun connects to your existing number by QR code, without the WhatsApp Business API, and gives each person their own login, so it is one way to run WhatsApp Business with multiple users. It has four roles, shared filters to limit what someone sees, presence and a typing warning, team notes, rotation that labels new chats in turn and first-response targets. Plans start at $49 per month with unlimited team members and no per-message fees.
Two honest limits. Rotation places a name label on a chat rather than assigning an owner, and the typing warning warns rather than locks the chat, so your team still needs a simple rule about who answers. And because this is a linked device, the session can drop and need a new scan, and normal WhatsApp limits apply to your number.
Related: WhatsApp for teams · Round robin for new chats · Pricing