How to Share a Contact Card on WhatsApp (App and API)

To share a contact card in the WhatsApp app, open the chat, tap the attach button, choose Contact, pick the person and send. On the WhatsApp Business Platform (API), the same thing is a contacts message: you send the name, numbers and other details as JSON, and the customer gets a card they can save or message straight away.

Businesses use contact cards to hand a customer over to the right person: a branch manager, a delivery partner, a sales rep or a support line. This guide covers the steps on Android, iPhone and WhatsApp Web, the API request and its fields, what the customer sees, how incoming cards reach your webhook, and the privacy points to check before you share anyone’s details.

How to share a contact in the WhatsApp app

WhatsApp’s Help Center gives the steps for each device.

Android

1. Open the individual or group chat.
2. Tap the attach (paper clip) icon.
3. Tap Contact and choose a contact saved in your phone’s address book.
4. Tap the send icon, if prompted.

iPhone

1. Make sure WhatsApp has permission to use your Contacts, in iPhone Settings › Privacy.
2. Open the individual or group chat and tap the attach button.
3. Tap Contact and choose the person.
4. Tap Next. By default every detail saved for that contact is shared, so tap items on the Share Contacts screen to remove anything you don’t want to send.
5. Tap Send, if prompted.

WhatsApp Web and desktop

1. Open the chat and click the attach button.
2. Click Contact and select contacts saved in your phone’s address book.
3. Click send.

To pass a card on, forward it like any message: tap and hold it, tap the forward icon and pick a chat. If you didn’t create it, the forwarded card shows a “Forwarded” label.

Sharing your own business as a contact

A “business contact card” usually means one of two things: a card for your business number that customers can save, or a card for one of your people. Both work the same way. In the app, save the number in your address book with a clear name, such as “Example Store Support”, then share that contact.

If you just want people to start a chat with you, a contact card isn’t always the best tool. A click-to-chat link or QR code opens a chat in one tap and works on a website, a receipt or a shop counter. See WhatsApp links and QR codes, and make sure your business profile shows your hours, address and website, because that’s what people see when they open your chat.

Sending a contact card with the WhatsApp API

On the Cloud API a contact card is a contacts message. Send it to POST https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/messages with a system or business access token. A short example with demo data:

{ "messaging_product": "whatsapp", "to": "<CUSTOMER_NUMBER>", "type": "contacts", "contacts": [ { "name": { "formatted_name": "Rahul Verma", "first_name": "Rahul", "last_name": "Verma" }, "org": { "company": "Example Store", "title": "Branch Manager, Andheri" }, "phones": [ { "phone": "+91 98XXX XXX01", "type": "Work", "wa_id": "9198XXXXXX01" } ], "urls": [ { "url": "https://example.com", "type": "Company" } ] } ] }

A successful call returns a wamid for the message, just like a text. Status webhooks (sent, delivered, read, failed) refer to that ID.

The fields you can send

Meta allows up to 257 contacts in one message, but recommends sending fewer, for usability and to avoid negative feedback. In practice one card, or two at most, is plenty. Meta also warns that extra details such as addresses, birthdays and emails may not be supported on every recipient’s device, so put what matters most in the name and phone fields.

What the customer sees

The card shows the formatted_name with a profile arrow. Tapping the arrow opens the full details in a profile view. The buttons depend on whether you included a wa_id:

So for a staff member or branch who uses WhatsApp, always include their wa_id, or the customer gets an invite button for someone who’s already on WhatsApp.

The 24-hour rule for contact cards

Meta lists contacts messages among the service messages you can send while a customer service window is open. The window opens when the customer messages you and lasts 24 hours from their last message. Outside it, only approved templates go through. See the 24-hour window.

If you need to introduce someone to a customer who hasn’t written recently, send an approved utility template first, such as an order or appointment update, and share the card once they reply. A card sent in the window is a service message: free for the first 1,000 per number each month, then charged; see is the WhatsApp API free?

Receiving contact cards from customers

Customers share contacts with you too: a colleague who handles the order, a family member to deliver to, or the person who should get a quote. These arrive on your messages webhook with type: "contacts" and a contacts array using the same fields as above.

• Expect gaps. Meta says many properties may be missing if the person chose not to share them or their device prevents it. Don’t assume a phone number or email is there.
• Read wa_id if it’s there. It tells you the shared number is on WhatsApp.
• Watch for ads. A card sent from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad includes a referral object with the ad’s details.

A shared card isn’t consent to message that person. Someone who receives a card from a friend hasn’t opted in to hear from your business, so call or ask them to message you first, rather than sending them templates. See WhatsApp opt-in. The general webhook setup is in WhatsApp Cloud API webhooks.

Good uses, with sample messages

Send a short line of text with the card, so the customer knows why they’re getting it. Some samples with demo data:

Contact cards in Automate AI

When a customer shares a contact with you, Automate AI’s shared team inbox shows it as a card in the chat, with the contact’s name and first phone number, and a “+1 more” style note when the card holds more numbers. If you want to keep the person, add them in Contacts with Add Contact.

The inbox doesn’t send contact cards. To hand a customer over to a colleague, type their name and number in a reply, or send their click-to-chat link. If the person should take the conversation over, a manager can reassign the chat to them in the inbox, which keeps everything on your business number, so the customer doesn’t have to start again.