What is a virtual number and why do I need it?

This article is intended for entrepreneurs, marketers and professionals who actively use WhatsApp to interact with customers, mass mailings and automate business processes. Using a personal number for these purposes can be insecure and inconvenient due to the risks of blocking and the need to buy SIM cards.

Virtual numbers make registering accounts on WhatsApp simpler, making it much easier to manage and automate. This is especially important for mass activity, as it allows for quick recovery when accounts are blocked, minimizing potential losses. This approach opens up great opportunities for safer and more convenient use of WhatsApp for commercial purposes, as even if one account is blocked, you can quickly register a new one without risking your core numbers and infrastructure.

Virtual number and its use in WhatsApp

Using a personal number for commercial purposes carries the risk of blocking and loss of privacy, and restoring the account, in case of a ban, will be difficult. Virtual numbers help to avoid this by providing access to numbers from any country and region with full messenger functionality.

To sign up for WhatsApp, you need to have the app itself on your phone, accept the terms of use and enter your phone number in international format. This number will then receive a confirmation code via SMS or call, which must be entered into the app. This process is simple on a regular smartphone, but without a physical device it becomes more complicated as you will need a method of receiving messages or calls to confirm.

Sometimes WhatsApp offers other signup options, but more often you'll need to accept a message or call

If you have multiple devices, you can manually register numbers on each of them, which takes time and effort. How to do this is detailed below. If you don't have a physical gadget, you can use emulators or special API methods offered by us as a WhatsApp API provider. These methods allow you to automate processes, but they have their own peculiarities and limitations that are important to consider. The details will be discussed in the following sections.

Thus, virtual numbers are convenient for anonymity and automation of registration, but their use without a physical device requires a more careful approach. In this article, we will consider where and how to get a virtual number, how to receive an SMS or call on it, as well as the pros and cons of using emulators and other options for registering accounts in WhatsApp via API.

Several ways to get a virtual number for WhatsApp

1. Official virtual number providers
Virtual number providers such as Twilio, Vonage and Voximplant offer numbers that support SMS and calling directly. They require detailed business verification including providing a lot of documents. The advantage of these providers is that they provide APIs for integration, but setting up SMS and call acceptance remains your responsibility.

Twilio, for example, offers out-of-the-box webhooks for SMS, but costs more and requires more verification. Voximplant offers more affordable numbers, but setting them up to receive messages and calls is more complicated and may require you to set up IP telephony yourself.

Many numbers provided by these services may have already been used in public services and become unavailable for registration in WhatsApp. The app will simply not allow the use of such a number while requesting another one. This complicates the process and makes it impractical to use these numbers to register in the messenger.

(More often than not, numbers from exchanges and providers fail to register in WhatsApp)

Using such services requires technical knowledge and can be labor-intensive with no guarantee of results. Therefore, they are more suitable for long-term business tasks not related to mass activity on WhatsApp.

2. VoIP exchanges
VoIP exchanges are platforms where you can purchase virtual numbers from different providers with flexible terms and conditions. Services such as DIDWW, CallHippo, VoIP.ms and TollFreeForwarding offer a wide range of numbers from different countries, allowing you to find the right one at a favorable price. However, support on these platforms is limited as they act as intermediaries. In addition, exchanges may ask for documents to verify an account or business. Often, numbers can be temporary or previously used, making it difficult to sign up for WhatsApp, and you'll need additional technical setup to receive SMS or calls anyway.

(Sometimes you will need a bit of technical knowledge to set up receiving messages or calls)

3. One-time activation services
These platforms offer temporary numbers that can be rented for quick registration in WhatsApp or other services. They are convenient because the registration process is fully automated and does not require identity verification or documents. The user receives the number in a few minutes and can immediately use it to receive SMS or calls in a convenient out-of-the-box interface without any technical settings. However, this approach carries risks: numbers can be previously used or stolen, making them unreliable for long-term use. Since such services operate in a gray zone, we will not provide links to them, but they can be easily found on the Internet.

(“Gray” services for buying cheap one-time activations)

So, you have decided on a virtual number provider that meets your requirements. But now how to organize your work if you don't want to use physical devices or need to register accounts en masse with minimal effort?

How to register many numbers in WhatsApp?

Mass activity usually requires a large number of numbers, but it is inconvenient and cumbersome to store many devices at home or in the office. Let's take a look at all the solutions for active number registration in WhatsApp.

Gadget farm
A gadget farm is a group of mobile devices used to handle multiple accounts simultaneously. Usually, these are dozens or even hundreds of smartphones or tablets that perform some tasks. Most often, the devices are physically placed on a special rack or in an enclosure, connected to power and the internet. But it is possible to use automated systems to manage farms.

You may well use several of your old phones in your work:

• You can install regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on each device, which allows you to already use two numbers on one phone.
• In regular WhatsApp, you can connect multiple numbers in one app via the “Multi-Account” feature. To do this, go to your account settings, select “Add a new number” and follow the instructions.
• Cloning apps create duplicate apps, allowing you to run multiple accounts on the same device. However, WhatsApp can recognize this and block the accounts.

(Adding a new account in WhatsApp)

Thus, even a few old phones at home can provide up to ten active WhatsApp accounts. However, these devices require constant monitoring and periodic switching on to log into the app. If you don't log into WhatsApp on your phone for 14 days, it drops all connected sessions (like Web versions or API connections). This means you'll have to put your phones on charge frequently, messing around with devices and keeping track of them, which creates more inconvenience and makes it harder to manage your gadget farm.

How to register a number in WhatsApp without a gadget?

Emulators

Using emulators for WhatsApp allows you to run the application on your computer without a phone, which is convenient for mass registration of numbers. How to choose the right one? Here are a few of the most convenient options below

BlueStacks

A popular emulator with support for a variety of applications. It is easy to install and use, but requires enough system resources. Good for running WhatsApp on PC, but can be noticeable for WhatsApp security.

Nox

A lightweight emulator optimized for games and apps. Has flexible settings and can run multiple instances of WhatsApp at the same time, which is convenient for mass usage.

Memu

An emulator with high performance and flexible customization. Features a simple interface and support for multiple Android versions.

LDPlayer

Lightweight and fast emulator with good compatibility. Supports many apps and games, but like the others, has the risk of being detected by WhatsApp.

Cloud Emulator

Cloud emulators allow you to run applications remotely, which reduces the load on local resources and improves stability. However, they require additional customization and can be more expensive.

For all the pros, there are cons to this use of emulators:

• Session disconnection after 14 days: as with a session on a physical device, if you don't log into your account for two weeks, WhatsApp will disconnect connected devices (like the Web version, which could be your agents or APIs). This requires regular checking and running emulators.
• Increased risk of blocking: WhatsApp monitors virtual devices and may block an account if it detects emulator usage.
• Problems with updates: Emulators may not be compatible with newer versions of WhatsApp, making them more difficult to use.

Overall, emulators do not guarantee stable performance and require constant monitoring, making them not the most reliable option for mass activity.

Device-Free WhatsApp API

Mobile instances or Device-Free WhatsApp Channel from Whapi.Cloud allows you to register numbers and work with APIs without using a physical device. This is convenient for companies that need mass registration and automation. Whapi.Cloud offers extensive functionality for developers: managing and parsing groups, checking numbers for WhatsApp and more. This approach solves many of the problems faced by users of traditional VoIP numbers and emulators.

(Registering a new account via API, without using a gadget. The screenshot from the Developer Hub interface shows a repeated request to register a new number with the code already received and a successful registration response)

At the moment, the Device-Free WhatsApp API functionality is only available to some partners as part of closed beta testing. If you are interested in learning more and would like to participate in the testing, contact us for a survey and possible access to this technology.

>Sign up as a beta participant<

You can also check out the full range of Whapi.Cloud API features which includes account management, parsing of groups, channels, communities, mass checking of numbers against WhatsApp, ability to send buttons, surveys, media and more.
Learn more about Whapi.Cloud

Conclusion

Using a virtual number for WhatsApp opens up many opportunities, providing privacy and convenience of working with the messenger. With its help, you can use regional numbers to enter new markets, automate mass registration and account management. This is especially useful for companies that value flexibility and scalability. Platforms like Whapi.Cloud offer powerful APIs for automating groups, mailings, and number verification. If you're looking for a truly feature-rich solution to work effectively with WhatsApp, try our API and unlock all its capabilities.