# How to manage contacts, lists and segments

Source: https://wassuply.com/docs/contacts-lists-segments/
Updated: 2026-10-30 · Wassuply 1.0.4 for Windows and macOS

> Wassuply keeps your contacts on your computer in one Contacts screen, where you add numbers by hand or import a CSV file with column mapping. You can tag contacts, group them into lists, build rule-based segments from tags, lists and dates, and export them back to CSV. Saved contacts, lists and segments can then be added to any broadcast campaign.

In the app: Sidebar → Broadcasts → Contacts

## Key facts

- Wassuply imports contacts from comma-separated CSV files only, so an Excel workbook has to be saved as CSV before you import it.
- The Wassuply contact import needs one column mapped to Phone and skips any row whose number has fewer than 7 digits once spaces, dashes, brackets and plus signs are removed.
- Wassuply stores each phone number only once, so an import skips numbers already in Contacts unless Update existing contacts is ticked.
- A Wassuply segment matches the contacts that meet all of its rules, built from five rule types: Is in list, Has tag, Does NOT have tag, Added after date and Added before date.
- Opted-out contacts are always left out of Wassuply segments and are hidden from the From Contacts picker in the campaign wizard.
- The Export button on the Wassuply Contacts screen downloads the contacts currently shown as contacts.csv with Phone, First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Job Title, Website, Tags and Status columns.

## What is the Contacts screen?

The Contacts screen is Wassuply's address book: one row per phone number, stored on your computer and reusable in any broadcast campaign. Open it from **Broadcasts → Contacts**. It has four tabs: **Contacts**, **Lists**, **Segments** and **Tags**.

- **Phone**: Required and unique. Saved as digits only, so `+44 7700 900123` becomes 447700900123.
- **First Name, Last Name**: Joined into the name shown in the table and used by the `{name}` merge field.
- **Email, Company, Job Title, Website**: Free text fields.
- **Tags and Notes**: Comma-separated labels, and free text for anything else.

There are no custom fields on saved contacts. The `{custom1}` and `{custom2}` merge fields come from a CSV uploaded inside a campaign, as explained in [Templates and spintax](https://wassuply.com/docs/templates-and-spintax/). Numbers you upload or paste inside a campaign stay in that campaign and are not added to Contacts.

## How do I add and edit a contact?

Click **Add Contact**, type the number with its country code and save; only **Phone** is required.

**How to add a contact in Wassuply**

1. **Open the form**: Go to **Broadcasts → Contacts** and click **Add Contact**.
2. **Enter the number**: Type the full international number, for example 447700900123. Spaces, dashes and a leading + are removed.
3. **Add details and save**: Fill in any other fields and click **Add Contact**. If the number already exists, Wassuply fills the empty fields of that contact instead of creating a second one.

Click a row to open the details panel. **Details** shows every field, an **Opt Out** or **Restore** link and **Start Chat**, which switches to a connected number's WhatsApp view. **Edit** changes any field except the phone number. **History** lists the campaigns the contact was in, with status, time and error. The **...** menu on each row offers **View Profile**, **Edit**, **Toggle Opt-out** and **Delete**, and ticking rows lets you delete several at once.

Search covers name, phone, email and company. Filter with **All Tags** and **All Status** (**Active** or **Opted Out**), or click a column heading to sort.

### The contact profile

**View Profile** opens a read-only drawer with the contact's details, an **Opted Out** badge when relevant, how it was added (Manual, Imported or Inbound) and the date. It also shows Total, Sent and Failed counts and a timeline of up to 50 recent campaign messages. Clicking a number on a campaign's detail page opens the same drawer.

## How do I import contacts from a CSV or Excel file?

Click **Import**, pick a .csv file and follow the three-step wizard. Wassuply reads comma-separated CSV only, so save an Excel workbook as CSV UTF-8 first.

**How to import contacts from a CSV file**

1. **Choose the file**: Click **Import** and select your .csv file. The first row must hold the column headings.
2. **Map the columns**: On **Map Columns**, click the badge beside each column and pick a field or **- Skip -**. Suggestions are pre-filled. **Next** stays disabled until a column is mapped to **Phone**.
3. **Set the options**: On **Import Options**, choose **Update existing contacts**, **Add to list (optional)** and **Tag all imported contacts (optional)**.
4. **Preview and import**: **Preview** shows the first 5 rows. Click **Import N Contacts** to see how many were Imported, Updated, Skipped or had Errors.

### Headings Wassuply maps automatically

Headings are compared without capitals, spaces or punctuation, so Phone Number and phone_number both map to Phone.

| Field | Recognised headings |
| --- | --- |
| Phone | phone, mobile, phone number, tel, telephone, contact |
| Full Name | full name, name, display name, contact name |
| First Name | first name, fname, first |
| Last Name | last name, lname, last, surname |
| Email | email, email address, mail |
| Company | company, company name, organization, org, employer |
| Job Title | job title, title, position, role, designation, dept |
| Website | website, url, web, site |
| Tags (comma separated) | tags, tag, label, labels, category, categories |
| Notes | notes, note, description, comment, comments, remarks |

### Phone number format and country codes

Wassuply removes everything that is not a digit and skips rows left with fewer than 7 digits. It does not add a country code, so each number needs its full international form, such as 447700900123 or 12125551234. Multiple tags in a Tags column can be split by commas or semicolons.

> **Caution:** Replace the leading 0 of a local number with the country code. 07700900123 is saved as typed and WhatsApp will not find it; 447700900123 works.

> **Tip:** The **Default country code** setting in **Settings → Sending** only affects numbers pasted into a campaign's **Paste Numbers** tab, not this import.

## What happens to duplicate numbers?

Each phone number exists only once in Contacts, so an import never creates a second contact for the same digits.

- A number already saved counts as **Skipped**, or as **Updated** when **Update existing contacts** is ticked.
- An update copies First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Job Title and Website from non-empty cells. Blank cells never erase data, and Tags, Notes and Full Name are left alone.
- A number repeated within one file is imported once; the repeat is skipped or updated.
- The import list and tag apply to new contacts. Existing contacts join the list only with **Update existing contacts** ticked, and never get the import tag.
- A number saved with and without its country code counts as two numbers here, so keep one format.

## How do tags work?

Tags are short labels on each contact, added in the Tags field, from a Tags column or with **Tag all imported contacts**.

- The **Tags** tab registers tags with **New Tag** (name and colour). Only registered tags appear in the **All Tags** filter and in segment rules, so create each tag there with the exact spelling your contacts use.
- Matching is exact, capitals included: VIP and vip are different tags.
- Each tag card counts the contacts carrying it, not counting opted-out contacts. Click a card to see them.
- Deleting a tag removes it from every contact; the contacts are kept.

## How do I create and use lists?

A list is a fixed group of contacts you choose, such as VIP customers, and it only changes when you add or remove people.

**How to build and use a list**

1. **Create the list**: Open **Broadcasts → Lists**, click **New List**, enter a name, pick one of 10 colours and click **Create List**.
2. **Add contacts**: Open the list, click **Add Contacts**, tick the people you want and click **Add N Contacts**. An import can also fill a list.
3. **Maintain it**: Tick contacts and click **Remove from List**, or use **Rename** to change the name and colour.
4. **Send to it**: In a campaign's **Audience** step, open **From Contacts**, choose the list in the drop-down, select contacts and click **Add N Selected Contacts**.

Deleting a list never deletes its contacts. Opted-out members stay in the list but the campaign picker hides them, and numbers outside 7 to 15 digits are skipped with a warning. See [Broadcast campaigns](https://wassuply.com/docs/broadcast-campaigns/) for the rest of the wizard.

## How do segments filter contacts?

A segment is a saved set of rules, and its members are the contacts that match every rule when you use it, so new contacts that fit are included automatically.

| Rule | Matches contacts that |
| --- | --- |
| Is in list | belong to the chosen list |
| Has tag | carry the chosen registered tag |
| Does NOT have tag | do not carry the chosen tag |
| Added after date | were added after the chosen date |
| Added before date | were added before the chosen date |

**How to create a segment**

1. **Start a segment**: Open **Broadcasts → Segments**, click **New Segment** and enter a **Segment Name**.
2. **Add rules**: Pick a rule and its value; **Add rule** adds more. All rules must match (AND).
3. **Preview and save**: Click **Run preview** to see the match count and sample names, then **Save Segment**. Rules without a value are dropped.

Opted-out contacts are always left out. Saved segments cannot be edited, so delete and recreate one to change its rules. To use a segment, open the campaign's **Audience** step, choose **Segment**, pick it and click **Add Contacts from** plus its name. Matching contacts are copied into the campaign at that moment.

> **Tip:** After adding a segment, compare the count in the green banner with the **Run preview** count before you continue.

## How do I export contacts?

Click **Export** on the Contacts screen to download contacts.csv with the contacts currently shown, so set the search and filters first.

| Tool | Where | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Contacts export | **Broadcasts → Contacts → Export** | Phone, First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Job Title, Website, Tags (semicolon separated) and Status, as UTF-8 so Excel shows non-Latin names correctly. Notes and list membership are not included. |
| All Chat Contacts | **Tools → Contact Export** | Phone and Name of every one-to-one chat loaded in one connected number's chat list, optionally filtered by country code. Groups are left out. |

For Contact Export, pick the number, scroll to the bottom of its chat list in WhatsApp so every chat loads, click **Extract Contacts**, then **Download CSV**. The other exporters there are marked Coming Soon; see [Utilities](https://wassuply.com/docs/utilities/).

> **Tip:** If an **Export** button is missing, check **Settings → Privacy**: **Stealth Mode** and **Disable all data export** both hide exports.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I import an Excel file directly?

No. Wassuply imports .csv files only, so in Excel use Save As, choose CSV UTF-8 (comma delimited) and import that file.

### Do phone numbers need a country code?

Yes. Import keeps the digits as they are, so include the country code and drop any leading 0, for example 447700900123.

### What is the difference between a list and a segment?

A list is a fixed group you fill by hand or during an import. A segment is a set of rules on lists, tags and dates, so its members change as your contacts change.

### Are my contacts stored in the cloud?

No. Contacts, lists, tags and segments are stored on your computer. To move them to another PC, export a CSV and import it there.

### Why does my tag not show in the tag filter or segment rules?

Those menus only list tags registered in the **Tags** tab. Create the tag there with exactly the same spelling and it appears straight away.

### Is it safe to delete a contact who opted out?

It is better not to. The opt-out is stored on the contact, so deleting the contact also deletes the opt-out; leave it marked Opted out instead, as explained in [Opt-outs and blacklist](https://wassuply.com/docs/opt-outs-and-blacklist/).

Wassuply is independent software. It is not made, endorsed or sponsored by WhatsApp or Meta.