The WhatsApp Link Format, Explained

The anatomy of a chat link

A chat link has three parts: the domain, the number, and an optional message. The domain is wa.me. The number follows as a path segment, written in international format with digits only. The message, if there is one, is appended as a query parameter named text.

Put together, a complete link looks like https://wa.me/34612345678?text=Hello. Nothing else is required, and nothing else is officially supported — parameters you may see elsewhere are either aliases or wishful thinking.

The number is the part that breaks

The number must be in international format: country code first, then the subscriber number. No plus sign, no spaces, no brackets, no hyphens, and no national trunk prefix.

That last rule causes most failures. A UK number written 07911 123456 becomes 447911123456, not 4407911123456. A Moroccan 0612 345 678 becomes 212612345678. Countries without a trunk prefix — Spain, Italy, the United States — are simply the country code followed by the number as written.

• Right: 447911123456
• Wrong: +44 7911 123456 (plus sign and spaces)
• Wrong: 4407911123456 (trunk prefix kept)
• Wrong: 07911123456 (no country code)

How the text parameter behaves

The text parameter pre-fills the sender's input field. It does not send anything. Whoever opens the link sees the message written out and taps send themselves, which is exactly the right behaviour — a link that could send messages on your behalf would be a security problem.

The value has to be URL-encoded. Spaces become %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and accented characters are encoded too. Skipping this is the second most common reason a link misbehaves: the message appears truncated at the first space or special character.

Practical use

For personal use, the link is a way to message someone without adding them to your contacts. For business use, it is a channel: put it behind a button on your site, in a bio, in an email signature, or inside a QR code on printed material.

One rule for published links: never put private information in the pre-filled text. The message is part of the URL, so it is visible to everyone who sees the link and to anything that logs it.