Disconnect WhatsApp

Stopping WhatsApp messaging in Bread Crumbs and releasing the number in Meta are two separate steps. You usually do both if you want the number fully disconnected from our platform and from the WhatsApp Business API.

1. Remove the WhatsApp channel in Bread Crumbs

This stops Bread Crumbs from using your connected number (no new messages through our inbox or API for that channel).

1. Open the Channels (opens in a new tab) page in the portal.
2. Find your WhatsApp channel.
3. Use Remove (or the equivalent delete/remove action for that channel) and confirm.

You need appropriate workspace permissions to manage channels (same as when you added the channel).

2. Remove or delete the number in Meta (Business Portfolio / WhatsApp Manager)

Who can delete

• Only business portfolio admins can delete business phone numbers.

Steps in WhatsApp Manager

1. Open your business portfolio in WhatsApp Manager (opens in a new tab).
2. If the Phone numbers panel is not open, go to Account tools (toolbox icon) → Phone numbers.
3. Click the trash icon next to the number and complete the flow.
4. If the number has Connected status, Meta requires your two-step verification PIN to complete deletion.

Restrictions Meta enforces

• If the number was used to send paid messages in the last 30 days, deletion is blocked until 30 days after the date of the last paid message. Meta may send you to Insights to show that date.
• You cannot delete a business phone number via the Graph API; removal is done through Meta’s UI (or their supported flows), not through Bread Crumbs or custom API calls.

If the WhatsApp Manager path is hard to find

Some teams still use Business settings on business.facebook.com (opens in a new tab): Settings (gear) → Business settings → Accounts → WhatsApp accounts, then manage or remove assets associated with the portfolio. Labels and layout change over time; WhatsApp Manager → Phone numbers is the path Meta’s developer documentation describes for deletion.

3. What to expect after disconnecting

• Bread Crumbs will no longer send or receive on that channel after you remove it in our portal.
• In Meta, deleting the number removes it from that WABA’s API use; ads, Inbox, and other Meta surfaces that depended on that number may need a new number or reconnection.
• If you only remove the channel in Bread Crumbs but keep the number on the WABA, you can reconnect the same number later (subject to Meta rules and any other app still linked to that number).

If deletion fails in Meta’s UI (for example an unexplained error), use Meta Business Help (opens in a new tab) or Meta developer community (opens in a new tab) threads—those issues are on Meta’s side, not something Bread Crumbs can fix from our dashboard.