WhatsApp Sync

Dex now syncs with WhatsApp on a daily basis, automatically importing relevant contacts and updating key details for a seamless experience.

Synced Information

• Contacts in 1:1 chats and groups of up to five people, counting you
• Phone numbers (may require merging for duplicates)
• Last message and date for 'Last Interaction' tracking

Key Features

• Automatic daily import of contacts including phone numbers
• Updates last interaction based on recent messages
• Refreshes Keep-in-Touch reminders with each interaction
• Shows the last message snippet on each contact card

Getting Started

If the QR code won't link

• Link from a computer. Open Dex on a computer and scan the code shown there with the phone that runs WhatsApp. The Dex mobile app can't link WhatsApp, and if you open Dex in a phone's browser it tells you to Link WhatsApp from your computer.
• Scan the live code. The code keeps changing while the dialog is open, so a screenshot or a forwarded picture of it won't work, and WhatsApp answers with "Couldn't link device".
• Get a fresh code if it expires. If you don't scan within a few minutes, the dialog shows QR code expired. Click Get a new code and scan again.

What Doesn't Sync

Dex does not import your WhatsApp chat history, and there is no WhatsApp inbox inside Dex. What Dex keeps per contact is the latest message snippet and its date, which is what drives 'Last Interaction' and refreshes your Keep-in-Touch reminders.

So these do not come across:

• Your conversations. Only the most recent message in a chat is kept, as a short text snippet on the contact — not the thread.
• Attachments and media. Photos, documents and voice notes are not imported; Dex stores text only.
• Groups with more than five people, counting you. Contacts in larger group chats are not imported at all.

Dex can, separately, write a daily summary of your conversations to the relevant contacts' timelines. See Turning off automatic conversation notes for what that covers and how to switch it off.

WhatsApp Says Connected but New Messages Aren't Showing Up

Dex checks for new WhatsApp messages every few minutes, so a recent message normally shows up the same day. Remember too that a new message updates the contact's last interaction and snippet — it does not add the conversation to Dex (see What Doesn't Sync).

If a day or two has passed and nothing is updating at all, work through these:

Turning off automatic conversation notes

Separately from the sync itself, Dex can summarize your conversations each night into notes on the relevant contacts' timelines, and email you a morning recap of what it wrote. This covers WhatsApp, iMessage, LinkedIn and Instagram messages.

Both switches live under Settings → Workflow → Automation on the web:

• Conversation summaries turns the timeline notes on or off. Turn it off and WhatsApp stays connected and keeps updating last interactions. Only the notes stop.
• Conversation summaries email turns the morning recap email on or off. It only appears while Conversation summaries is on.