HelpWhatsAppWhatsApp privacy: what we keep about a visitor’s number

WhatsApp privacy: what we keep about a visitor’s number

We message only the number that wrote to us, we keep the messages for a short time, and only you and your managers can read them.

Owner & Manager Where: Messaging → Conversations · Settings → Data & privacy 4 min read

This page is for you, so you can answer a visitor who asks, “What do you do with my number?”

What it is

When a visitor turns on WhatsApp updates, their phone sends us a message, and that number is the only one we will message for that visit. We keep the messages and the number for a short, fixed time, and then they are deleted. For text messages, see Privacy: your visitors’ numbers and text messages.

How to check it in turnda

Open Messaging in the sidebar and choose the Conversations tab. The top of the tab says Private & auto-deleted every time you open it.
Look at a conversation in the list. The number is partly hidden. There is no message preview in the list.
To see what is kept after a visit, open Settings → Data & privacy. It shows your retention window, which you choose.

A real example

Lena joins your line, taps Get WhatsApp updates, and presses Send. She gets two messages. Two days after her visit ends (your window), her name and number are erased. Her WhatsApp messages in your Conversations tab are deleted after 30 days at the latest. Six months later she emails you asking for her data to be erased: you use Visitor data requests, and her conversation is erased with the rest.

What we keep, and for how long

What	How long	Who can see it
The number that sent the WhatsApp message	Kept as a scrambled fingerprint for the opt-in, so only that number is messaged for the visit.	Nobody reads it back. Screens show it partly hidden.
The messages we sent and the visitor’s replies, with the number each one went to	Up to 30 days, then the whole row is deleted, whatever retention window you chose.	You, and managers for their own location.
The visitor’s name and contact on the visit	Until your retention window ends: you choose it in days, from 1 day to 365 days after the visit ends. The default is 2 days.	Staff on the Queue, while the visit is live.
An email the visitor also gave	If the visitor gave an email when they joined and then turned on WhatsApp, the email is kept for that visit’s emails (moved, next stop, review request). It is erased with the rest of their details when your retention window ends, or at once if you erase that visitor.	Staff on the Queue, while the visit is live.

What happens in the system

1Visitor presses Send in WhatsApp
Only this number is messaged for this visit
2Two messages go out
Message 1 ends with the STOP line
3The visit ends
Your retention window starts
4Messages deleted
At most 30 days after they were sent
5Name and contact erased
When your retention window ends, or sooner on a data request

The life of a visitor’s number.

What you need to do

Choose your retention window. See Retention and export.
Handle a data request. If a visitor asks for their data to be erased, use Visitor data requests. Their WhatsApp conversation is included.
Say it at the counter if asked. “We message only the number you wrote from. Reply STOP any time.”
Show your own short privacy notice in each location’s settings. It appears under turnda’s on your visitor pages.

How a visitor stops WhatsApp

The visitor wants to	What they do	What happens
Stop the messages	Reply STOP.	Messages stop at once, and nothing is sent back. The turnda WhatsApp number is shared, so this applies to every business that uses turnda.
Start again	Tap Get WhatsApp updates again on the tracking page and press Send.	Messages come back on for that visit. Only the visitor's own new message does this; a bare JOIN from anyone does not.

What turnda does not cover

WhatsApp and Meta. They carry the messages and have their own privacy rules. They are listed as a supplier in the Privacy Policy.
Your own use. You must tell your visitors who you are and how you use their details. A short notice in each location’s settings does this.
Screenshots or notes taken by your team. Once someone copies a number out of turnda, it is outside our control.

Common questions

Question	Answer
Do you message numbers a visitor typed?	No. We message only the number that wrote to us from their own phone.
Do you send WhatsApp advertising?	No. A visitor gets two messages about their place in the line, and nothing else.
Can staff read the messages?	Only the owner, and managers for their own location. Opening a conversation is logged.
Can anyone type a reply from the Conversations tab?	No. It is read-only. turnda replies automatically to real events only.
What if a visitor writes “hi”?	It is not read or answered.

Related: Data & privacy · Visitor data requests