Connecting to WhatsApp

WhatsApp is another way to talk to your Townie from your phone — not a mailbox it manages for you. Think of it as a chat thread with your assistant, like texting it. You can message your assistant directly from the WhatsApp app with text, photos, and voice notes.

What it is (and isn’t)

• It’s an inbound channel. You message your Townie on WhatsApp and it works on your request — searching email, checking your calendar, drafting, running tasks — just like in the app.
• It replies in that same chat. Anything you ask, it answers right there in WhatsApp.
• It can’t read your messages. It can’t read or search your WhatsApp conversations. It only sees the messages you send directly to it. These are limits set by Meta.

What it can do

With WhatsApp connected, your assistant can:

• Respond to direct messages — ask questions and run tasks from WhatsApp.
• Handle media-aware conversations — include photo context in your requests.
• Process voice notes — send spoken requests and get actionable responses.
• Support approvals in-channel — complete supported approval flows without switching apps.

How to connect

1. Go to /integrations and find WhatsApp.
2. Follow the prompt to link your number (you’ll send a quick first message to start the thread).
3. From then on, just message your Townie on WhatsApp like any other chat.

WhatsApp works best for on-the-go requests, quick follow-ups, and photo/voice-first routines.

What it’s great for

• Quick asks on the go — “what’s on my calendar tomorrow?” or “any urgent email today?”
• Capture a thought — “remind me to follow up with the vendor Thursday” or “add milk to my list.”
• Kick off a task from your phone — “draft a reply to the last email from Lisa” and review it later in the app.
• Get answers hands-free — research, summaries, quick questions, away from your desk.
• Send a pic to your Townie — take a picture of a flyer and ask your Townie to add the event to your calendar, or snap a receipt for expense processing.
• Voice-first requests — send a voice note when typing is inconvenient: “Summarize what changed in this thread” or “Set up a routine for this recurring request.”

Good to know

• You start the conversation. For messaging-app reasons, your Townie replies within a window after you message it; if it’s been a while, just send a new message to pick back up.
• It’s personal to you — your WhatsApp thread reaches your assistant only; it isn’t a shared or team channel.
• Same memory and tools — switching to WhatsApp doesn’t mean re-explaining yourself.

Reliability notes

Town includes delivery and typing reliability improvements for WhatsApp interactions. If a message appears delayed:

• Check your WhatsApp network connection
• Retry once in the same thread
• Confirm the integration is still connected in Town