You need a separate phone number
Pawz connects to WhatsApp the same way WhatsApp Web does — by linking to an existing account. It can’t create new phone numbers. The number you scan is the number people will message to talk to your agent.Recommended: get a cheap prepaid SIM
- Buy a prepaid SIM card (~$5 at any store or online)
- Register WhatsApp on it (use an old phone, or briefly swap SIMs)
- You only need the SIM active long enough to receive the verification SMS
- After linking, WhatsApp stays connected even if the SIM expires
- eSIM (Airalo, etc.) — ~$5, activate on your phone
- Google Voice — free but WhatsApp often rejects VoIP numbers
- Second phone with its own number
Setup
- In Pawz, go to Settings → Channels
- Select WhatsApp
- Choose who can message your agent (defaults are fine to start)
- Click Save & Connect
- A QR code will appear — scan it from the agent’s phone (the one with the separate number)
- WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device
- Done! People can now message that number to talk to your agent
What happens when someone messages
All traffic stays on your machine. Nothing is exposed to the internet.Access control
When using Pairing mode, pending requests show up on the WhatsApp channel card in Pawz with Approve / Deny buttons.
Configuration
Features
- QR code authentication (scan to link)
- Direct messages and group chat support
- Per-user conversation sessions with memory
- Prompt injection scanning on all incoming messages
- Agent routing via channel routing rules
- Auto-approval of tool calls (no human-in-the-loop for channel messages)
- Everything runs locally — nothing exposed to the internet
Tips
- The QR code expires after a few minutes — scan it promptly
- If you lose connection, click Stop then Start to get a fresh QR code
- Phone numbers in allowlist should include country code (e.g.,
15551234567) - The agent uses WhatsApp formatting: bold, italic,
strikethrough, ```code``` - Long responses are automatically split into multiple messages

