# 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](/content/integrations/index.html) 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