Channels
Connect the WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook accounts your customers message you on, and manage each number's name, display name and business profile.
Channels is where your messaging accounts are connected. Everything else in RateUp — the Inbox, Commerce, Campaigns, Loyalty notifications — depends on at least one channel being live here.
Supported Channels
| Channel | What connects |
|---|---|
| A WhatsApp Business account and its phone numbers | |
| An Instagram professional account | |
| A Facebook page |
Each channel lists its connected accounts and pages, so you can see at a glance what is live.
Multiple Accounts
You can connect more than one account per channel — several WhatsApp numbers, for example, one per brand or region.
In the Inbox, each ticket shows which account the customer wrote to, so agents always know which identity they are replying as.
Edit a WhatsApp Number
A connected number has three separate things you can change, and they are deliberately kept apart — one is yours, two belong to Meta.
| Tab | What it changes | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | The name you use for the number inside RateUp, plus its credentials | RateUp only |
| Display name | The business name customers see in WhatsApp | Meta — needs review |
| Profile | Photo, about line, description, category and contact details | Meta — applies immediately |
Open them from the pencil (Edit channel) on a number under Automated. A number configured under Manual carries the same three tabs on its own card.
docs/screenshots/settings/channel-edit-tabs.pngOnly a super admin can change a channel. Other roles can see the tabs but the save is refused.
Rename a Channel
The Channel name is your own label — it names the number in channel pickers, template screens and the Inbox's channel filter. Customers never see it.
It saves on its own. You do not need to resubmit the number's credentials, and nothing is sent to Meta — so there is no review and no waiting.
Change the Display Name
The display name is the business name WhatsApp shows customers. Meta reviews every change against its display name guidelines, so this is a request, not an edit.
What the statuses mean
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved | The name in use has passed review |
| In review | Meta is still deciding |
| Approved — not in use yet | Meta approved your requested name, but the number still shows the old one until you re-register |
| Rejected | The name breaks Meta's guidelines — edit it and submit again |
| Expired | The approval lapsed before the number was re-registered |
An approved name does nothing until you click Re-register number, and the approval only lasts 14 days. Miss that window and the name has to go through review again.
You can change a display name 10 times per 30 days. Beyond that Meta refuses the request, and its own message is shown back to you.
Update the Business Profile
The Profile tab is what customers see when they open your business in WhatsApp: the photo, the about line under your name, and your contact details. Unlike the display name, these apply as soon as they are saved.
docs/screenshots/settings/channel-profile-tab.png| Field | Shown as | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | The business avatar | JPEG or PNG, 5 MB; square images work best |
| About | The one-line status under your name | 139 characters |
| Description | The longer blurb on the business page | 512 characters |
| Contact email | 128 characters | |
| Category | The business category, from WhatsApp's own list | — |
| Address | Freeform text — WhatsApp does not check it against a map | 256 characters |
| Website / Second website | Up to two links | 256 characters each |
WhatsApp has no way to clear a profile field. Anything you leave blank is left exactly as it is rather than emptied, and a save with every field blank is refused.
Connect a Number Manually
Most accounts connect through the Automated tab, where Meta's own login flow supplies the credentials. Manual is for numbers whose credentials you hold yourself — WABA ID, Phone ID, App ID, webhook password and access token.
A manually configured number gets the same Channel, Display name and Profile tabs once it exists. Its credentials sit under the channel name on the Channel tab, saved with Save Changes; Delete Configuration removes the number.
The two modes are exclusive: a number onboarded automatically cannot be edited as a manual one until it is de-registered, and vice versa.
What Depends on a Channel
| Feature | Needs |
|---|---|
| Inbox | Any channel |
| Campaigns | |
| Commerce | WhatsApp + a catalog |
| Loyalty notifications | |
| Instagram automations |
Disconnecting a channel stops message delivery for everything built on it. Existing conversations stay readable, but nothing new arrives and nothing can be sent.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Messages stopped arriving | The channel's connection may have expired — reconnect it |
| "WhatsApp settings not found" elsewhere in RateUp | No WhatsApp account is connected |
| An Instagram account will not connect | It must be a professional account linked to a Facebook page |
| Replies fail on one number only | Check that specific account's status, not the channel as a whole |
| The approved display name still is not showing | Re-register the number — approval alone does not apply it |
| "Nothing to update — WhatsApp does not accept an empty profile field" | Every profile field was blank; fill in at least one |
| "Profile photo must be a JPEG or PNG image" | Convert the file — WhatsApp takes no other format for a profile photo |
| A display name change is refused outright | You may have used all 10 changes for this 30-day period |
| The Display name or Profile tab cannot read from Meta | The number's access token has expired — reconnect the account |
Who Can See Which Channel
Every member of the organisation sees every channel unless you say otherwise. To restrict a group to one number or account, set Channel Access on their team.
Agents can then narrow their own view further with the Inbox's Channel filter — which never widens what their team is allowed to see.
Related Pages
- WhatsApp Settings
- Teams — per-team channel access
- Integrations