Numbers saved without a country code

WhatsApp needs the full international number, such as +447700900123. A number saved the way it's dialled at home, such as 07700900123, has no country in it.

The audience step's box Numbers saved without a country code says how many people in this audience have one, with an example, and offers two choices:

• Treat them all as +___ numbers: type the country code as digits, such as 44 for the UK. One code applies to all of them, and each number is written the way that country does: for most countries, the leading zero is dropped and the code put in front.
• Leave them out: these people don't get the campaign.

The box starts with the code from your last campaign or, for your first, the country of your own WhatsApp number.

Every completed number is checked: it must be a real number of that country, with the right length and leading digits. A number that doesn't fit is left out, so nobody else gets your message by mistake. They're counted under Number doesn't fit the country code, and See who is left out lists them as saved. If most of your numbers don't fit, the code is wrong; if only a few don't, those numbers are mistyped or from another country: correct them in Contacts.

What the check can't see: some countries write numbers alike. Saudi and UAE mobile numbers, for example, look the same, so a Saudi number completed with the UAE's code passes the check and the message goes to someone in the UAE. Check the code yourself as well: See and edit the list shows the full number each person would be messaged on.

The safe fix is to save numbers with their country code in Contacts. Numbers starting with + or 00 are used as they are, and people who've chatted with you on WhatsApp are reached on the number they wrote from.