--- title: WhatsApp | Lightfield description: Sync your one-to-one WhatsApp direct messages with contacts into Lightfield, matched to contacts by phone number. --- Connect your WhatsApp account to sync your one-to-one WhatsApp direct messages (DMs) with contacts into Lightfield, so they appear on the contact’s timeline alongside email and meetings. ## Who can use it Owners, admins and members can connect their own WhatsApp account. WhatsApp stays listed in [Settings → Integrations](https://crm.lightfield.app/crm/settings/integrations/) while you have an account connected, so you can still manage or disconnect it after a plan change. Viewers can’t connect accounts, so they don’t see WhatsApp there. ## Getting started WhatsApp connects per person. There is no workspace-level setup: each member connects their own account, and no one, including an admin, can connect it for them. ### Connect your WhatsApp account 1. In Lightfield, go to **[Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp](https://crm.lightfield.app/crm/settings/integrations/whatsapp/)**. 2. Under **Personal connection**, click **Connect**, then link your WhatsApp account in the window that opens. 3. Back in Lightfield, the setup appears under **Personal connection**, which shows **Pending**. Until you finish it, the account has **Metadata only** visibility and nothing syncs from the past. Choose: - **Back sync:** turn it on to sync past conversations from the last 24 months, or leave it off to sync only new messages. - **Visibility:** what others in the workspace can see. **Metadata only** shows only participants and timestamps. **Full access** shows all message content. Workspace owners always have full access, so choose which conversations to include as well as their visibility. 4. Click **Finish setup**. **Cancel** disconnects the account you just connected. 5. **Personal connection** shows **Connected to** followed by your account name. 6. Use **Sync DMs to contacts** to choose which contacts to sync DMs with. Nothing syncs until you do. Contacts appear as the initial sync progresses. When you connect, Lightfield adds your WhatsApp number to the **Phone** field on your [member page](/help/settings/members/index.md#add-your-phone-and-linkedin-profile) if it’s empty. ## How WhatsApp works in Lightfield ### Which messages sync Lightfield matches your WhatsApp DMs to contacts by phone number, so a contact needs their WhatsApp number in the **Phone** field on their record to be matched. Include the country code: a number without one is read as a US number. If more than one contact has the same number, the DM isn’t matched to either. - **Contacts you choose:** DMs sync only with the contacts you select in **Sync DMs to contacts**. A contact shows up there once you’ve exchanged a WhatsApp DM with them, and new matches don’t sync until you select them. - **Never synced:** group chats, broadcast lists, channels, WhatsApp system messages and chats with teammates. New messages sync as they arrive. With **Back sync** on, past messages from the last 24 months sync too. ### Choose which conversations appear in the CRM You choose which of your own WhatsApp conversations show up in the CRM. There are two ways to do it: - **On the contact page:** when Lightfield finds WhatsApp DMs between you and a contact that you haven’t chosen yet, the contact page asks **Keep WhatsApp messages with \[name] in sync?** Click **Include** (✓) to keep them in sync, or **Dismiss** (✕) to leave them out. - **With the agent:** ask the agent to include or hide a conversation, for example “Hide my WhatsApp conversation with Alex Chen.” Review its proposal and click **Apply**. Conversations you don’t include stay out of CRM timelines and the agent’s timeline context. ## Manage or remove the integration - **Change sync settings:** in **[Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp](https://crm.lightfield.app/crm/settings/integrations/whatsapp/)**, change **Back sync**, **Visibility**, or **Sync DMs to contacts** under **Personal connection**. You can turn **Back sync** on later, but you can’t turn it off once it’s on. - **Disconnect your account:** in **[Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp](https://crm.lightfield.app/crm/settings/integrations/whatsapp/)**, open **More actions** next to the status under **Personal connection** and choose **Disconnect**. New messages stop syncing. DMs that already synced stay in Lightfield, and you can still include or hide them from the contact page or with the agent. - **When a member leaves:** if a member is deactivated, or their role changes to one that can’t connect accounts, Lightfield disconnects their WhatsApp account. ## Common questions **Can I sync DMs with teammates?** DMs with your Lightfield teammates are excluded from sync, so they won’t appear in **Sync DMs to contacts**. Lightfield recognizes a teammate by their connected WhatsApp number or the **Phone** field on their member page. If a teammate connects WhatsApp after you’ve synced DMs with them, those DMs are removed from the CRM.