Roles and permissions

💬 Inbox & teamLevel: Intermediate⏱ 8 min

🎯 Goal

Give every teammate exactly the access their job needs: which screens and buttons they get, which WhatsApp numbers they work, whether they see full customer numbers, and how long they stay signed in.

🧰 What you need

The account owner login (or an agent whose role can manage agents)
An idea of what each teammate should and should not see

How access works

Each agent has one role and a set of numbers.

The role decides what they can do: a list of permissions per module (Inbox, Contacts, Campaigns, Templates, Template library, Automation / flow builder, Chatbot / AI & Knowledge, Auto reminders, WhatsApp Flows, Sales pipeline, Orders, Analytics, Developer, Integrations, Growth tools, My numbers, Agents & roles).
The numbers decide where they can do it. An agent limited to one number sees only that number’s inbox, contacts, campaigns, templates (its WhatsApp Business Account), flows, analytics and deals.
You, the owner, always have full access. No role applies to you, and Subscription & billing and the AI provider keys are yours alone.

The server checks every permission on every request, not just the menu. A hidden button cannot be reached by typing its address.

Ready-made roles

Role	For	Highlights
Admin	A trusted deputy	Everything except managing agents and connecting numbers
Manager	Team leads	The whole inbox and contacts, pipeline, orders, auto reminders, analytics; reads campaigns, templates and chatbots
Agent (chat only)	Support staff	Chats assigned to them or unassigned: reply, notes, resolve; contacts read, update and tag; products and payment links; their own deals; sees auto reminders
Marketing	Campaign team	Campaigns, templates, template library, contact import/export, segments, auto reminders, analytics; no inbox

Ready-made roles are kept up to date: when a new module arrives, they get the sensible access for it. You can change their privacy, operator-name and session settings, but not their name, permission list or which chats they see. Use Copy role to make an editable version: it is called, for example, Agent (chat only) (copy) and opens straight away. The ready-made Agent (chat only) role has Block export on from the start.

The Roles tab: one card per role, with how many agents use it. — The **Roles** tab: one card per role, with how many agents use it.
Badges show the role’s settings at a glance: **Numbers masked**, **No export**, **Signs messages**, the session length, **Idle … min** and **Working hours**.
Each card has **Edit** and **Copy role**. Custom roles also have a delete button.
**New role** is top right.

The **Roles** tab: one card per role, with how many agents use it.
Badges show the role’s settings at a glance: **Numbers masked**, **No export**, **Signs messages**, the session length, **Idle … min** and **Working hours**.
Each card has **Edit** and **Copy role**. Custom roles also have a delete button.
**New role** is top right.

Steps: create a custom role

Open Agents & roles (left menu → Account) and choose the Roles tab. Click New role, or Copy role on the role closest to what you need.
Type a Role name.
On the Permissions tab, pick a module on the left and tick its permissions on the right. Select all / Clear all work on one module at a time.
For Inbox, choose Which chats they see: Assigned to them only, Assigned to them + unassigned, or All chats.
Under Privacy, turn on Mask customer phone numbers (shown as +91 98XXX XX210, and exports are blocked too) or just Block export.
Turn on Show agent name on outgoing messages if customers should see who replied. Choose before or after the text and bold, italic or plain.
On the Session configuration tab, set:
- Session length: Fixed length after login (1–30 days) or Ends every day at a set time.
- Inactivity timeout: minutes without real use before the agent is signed out. 0 turns it off, and the lowest value is 5 minutes. Only real actions count: clicks, typing, sending and moving between pages. Background refreshes do not.
- Only allow access during working hours: pick the days and the from/to times (India time, IST). Outside those hours the agent cannot log in, and an open session ends.
Click Save role.

The role editor: Role name, then the Permissions and Session configuration tabs. — The role editor: **Role name**, then the **Permissions** and **Session configuration** tabs.
Modules on the left with how many permissions are ticked; the permissions of the chosen module on the right, with **Select all** and **Clear all**.
For Inbox, **Which chats they see**.
Below: **Privacy** (Mask customer phone numbers, Block export) and **Show agent name on outgoing messages** with a preview.

The role editor: **Role name**, then the **Permissions** and **Session configuration** tabs.
Modules on the left with how many permissions are ticked; the permissions of the chosen module on the right, with **Select all** and **Clear all**.
For Inbox, **Which chats they see**.
Below: **Privacy** (Mask customer phone numbers, Block export) and **Show agent name on outgoing messages** with a preview.

The Session configuration tab. — The **Session configuration** tab.
**Session length**: fixed number of days, or ends every day at a set time.
**Inactivity timeout** in minutes (0 = off, minimum 5).
**Only allow access during working hours**: days and from/to times, in IST.

The **Session configuration** tab.
**Session length**: fixed number of days, or ends every day at a set time.
**Inactivity timeout** in minutes (0 = off, minimum 5).
**Only allow access during working hours**: days and from/to times, in IST.

Steps: give an agent a role and numbers

On the Agents tab, click Add agent, or the pencil next to an existing agent.
Pick the Role.
Under WhatsApp numbers, choose All numbers (including numbers you add later) or Selected numbers only and tick them.
Save. Changes apply on the agent’s next click. Their open panel reloads its menu by itself, with no need to log out.

The Agents list shows each agent’s role and numbers. The Activity tab lists every role, permission and number change with who made it and when.

The Activity tab: one line per change to a role, its permissions or an agent’s numbers. — The **Activity** tab: one line per change to a role, its permissions or an agent’s numbers.
Each line shows who made the change and when.

The **Activity** tab: one line per change to a role, its permissions or an agent’s numbers.
Each line shows who made the change and when.

Deleting a role

Click Delete on a custom role and confirm with Delete role. If agents still use it, MeAPI first asks which role to move them to (Move agents to…), so no one is left without a role. Ready-made roles cannot be deleted.

Tips

Start from a ready-made role and copy it. It is quicker than ticking from scratch.
New modules start switched off for custom roles. When MeAPI adds a feature, your custom roles do not get it until you tick it, so nothing opens up by surprise.
Agent with no number: they see a No WhatsApp numbers assigned screen asking them to contact their admin, with Check again and Log out. Give them a number and Check again lets them in. MeAPI also warns you when you save an agent with no number.
Assigning chats follows numbers. Only agents who can work a chat’s number can be assigned to it, by hand, by Auto-assign or by a flow.
Delete messages removes a message from the panel for your whole team. WhatsApp cannot unsend it, so the customer still has their copy.

Common mistakes

Giving “Agents & roles → Manage” widely. It lets someone invite and edit agents. They still cannot give anyone more than they have themselves, or change their own access, but keep it to team leads.
Masking numbers and expecting CSV exports. Masking blocks exports on purpose, because a CSV would reveal the full numbers.
A daily cut-off of 23:00 for a night shift. The session ends at that time even mid-chat. Use working hours that match the shift instead.

What’s next

Agents and teams →Round-robin, availability, teams for flows.Inbox basics →Assigning, resolving and notes.Account security →Keep the owner login safe.

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