# wa.me/username doesn't work yet — I verified it two ways > Source: > Published: 2026-07-04 12:36:04+00:00 `wa.me/username` doesn't work yet — I verified it two ways, here's what to use instead If you've tried to build a "share my WhatsApp" link using a `@username` instead of a phone number, you've probably assumed `wa.me/username` (or `wa.me/u/username` ) works the same way `wa.me/15551234567` does. It doesn't — at least not yet, as of writing this. I wanted a definitive answer instead of trusting blog posts or AI chatbot answers (more on that below), so I tested it two independent ways. ``` curl -I https://wa.me/u/some_real_reserved_username ``` Every username path I tried — including a certified-real, currently-reserved username — 302-redirects to: ``` api.whatsapp.com/resolve/?deeplink=...¬_found=1 ``` Compare that to the phone-number path, which redirects to: ``` api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=...&type=phone_number ``` Different resolver, different outcome. The server-side route for usernames exists, but every lookup currently resolves as "not found" — even for real, live usernames. Server response alone doesn't rule out Universal Links / App Links intercepting the URL client-side before it ever hits a server — `curl` can't see that. So I also opened all three link variants (`wa.me/username` , `wa.me/u/username` , and a redirect through my own domain) on a real phone with WhatsApp installed. None of them opened a chat. WhatsApp has rolled out `@username` handles as a real, user-facing feature — but it hasn't published a public deep-link spec for opening a chat from one, the way it has for phone numbers for years. If you're building a tool, a profile page, a business card generator, anything that assumes `wa.me/username` "just works," it doesn't, for anyone. One more data point: I asked Meta AI directly about this, with the counter-evidence above in hand. It kept asserting the link already works and didn't engage with the evidence when pushed. That's a useful reminder that chatbot answers about a fast-moving platform feature can be reciting stale/roadmap content rather than reflecting the live system — verify claims like this yourself before shipping something that depends on them. Until WhatsApp ships the real format, there are two things that work with zero surprises: `wa.me/` still opens a chat directly, no manual step, no ambiguity.`@username` (plus the "Username Key" if the person set one, which disambiguates people who share a username) as text or a QR code, with an explicit "find me by username" instruction. One extra manual step, but it doesn't expose a phone number.I built a small free tool that generates both — link + downloadable QR — and is explicit on-page about which one actually works right now instead of pretending the username link is live: [whatsusernames.link](https://whatsusernames.link). No signup, nothing stored server-side. If anyone finds a case where `wa.me/username` *does* resolve for them, I'd genuinely like to know — that would mean a staged rollout is underway.