Built for TNABoard, where a phone number is the most private thing a member owns
WAGate did not start as a product. It started as the piece of plumbing TNABoard needed so that members could talk on WhatsApp without ever handing each other a phone number. The community site runs it every day; everything on this site grew out of that.
// What a relayed message looks like from the board's side from: "@verified-member → board number" to: "their active contact (a username)" shown: "*alice*: Are you still free at 7?" // What each member can see of the other username: "alice" phone: null // never, in either direction
Why a board needed its own WhatsApp gateway
TNABoard is an adult-industry community. Members want the immediacy of WhatsApp for arranging a meeting or asking a quick question, but giving out a personal number is a real risk: it links a screen name to a real identity, it can be searched, saved and shared, and it cannot be taken back.
Email and on-site conversations are safe but slow. The official WhatsApp Business Platform needs Meta verification, pre-approved templates and a dedicated number, none of which fit a community that simply wants two members to talk. So the board built a small gateway around a WhatsApp Web session, put a REST API and signed webhooks on it, and wrote XenForo add-ons on top.
That gateway became WAGate. The hosted service you can sign up for here is the same software, running the same way, for anyone else with the same problem.
The one rule everything follows
A member's phone number is seen by the board's number and nothing else. Not by other members, not in profiles, not in links, not in notifications. Every feature on this page was designed so that rule never has to be bent.
How TNABoard uses WAGate
Three XenForo add-ons sit on top of one WAGate number. The WhatsApp Relay is the core; the other two reuse the number a member has already verified.
WhatsApp Relay
Members chat with each other through the board's WhatsApp number. Messages show only usernames. A chat opens only after the other person accepts the request, and either side can block or pause at any time.
WhatsApp Login
A member links WhatsApp by sending a one-time code to the board number. That proves they control a real number without typing it into a form, and can unlock a verified member group or password-free login.
WhatsApp Notifications
Members who opt in get a short “New message from username” nudge when a site conversation arrives. The sender's name only, never the content. Daily limits are set per user group.
A relay chat, step by step
What happens when one member wants to talk to another.
Verify your own number once
Press “Link WhatsApp” on the board. WhatsApp opens with a six-digit code ready to send to the board number. Send it, and the page updates by itself. The member never types their number into the website.
Ask to chat with a username
From the member's profile, their ad, or a share link they put in a signature, press “Chat on WhatsApp”. The board sends them a request on WhatsApp naming only your username.
They accept, decline or block
Nothing is relayed until the other member accepts. Decline and the requester is told no more than that. Block, and the person can never reach you through the relay again.
Talk normally through the board number
Both sides message the one board number. Replies go to the person you last spoke to; @username switches contacts and #list, #end and #stop manage the rest. Text, photos and voice notes all pass through.
What the board guarantees
Numbers
- Phone numbers are never shown to other members, anywhere. Profiles, hover cards, ads and share links point to a relay page, never to a number.
- Members verify by sending a code to the board, so the number arrives from WhatsApp itself rather than being typed into a web page.
- Even the member's own account page shows a masked version of their number.
- A member can delete their number at any time. The board and the WAGate number forget it together.
Consent
- No message is delivered until the recipient has accepted the request.
- Block and unblock work from WhatsApp or from the site and take effect immediately.
#stoppauses everything inbound; the WhatsApp icon next to a name can be hidden with one untick.- Notifications are opt-in and carry the sender's username only, never the message.
Data handling
- Relayed messages are fully encrypted so staff and moderators cannot view content, encrypted messages are purged automatically after 90 days.
- WAGate signs every webhook. The board rejects anything whose signature does not match, so nobody can inject a message as another member.
- The WhatsApp session credentials are encrypted at rest inside WAGate. The board only ever holds an API key, which can be rotated from the panel at any time.
- Per-member daily caps and per-group permissions keep the relay a conversation tool, not a broadcast tool. Unknown numbers get one automated reply and are otherwise ignored.
Not collected
- No contact list upload. The board never asks WhatsApp who you know.
- No read receipts or “last seen” are surfaced to other members.
- No card details for the service itself: WAGate is paid in crypto.
Why it matters for a community like this
Screen name stays a screen name
A number is a key to someone's real identity. Keeping it behind the board number means a username on TNABoard does not quietly become a name, a face and an address.
Contact can be withdrawn
Once a number is given out, it is out. A relay contact can be declined, blocked or ended, and the other person is left with nothing to keep.
Moderation without surveillance
Because messages pass through the board, reports of harassment can be checked against a log that expires on its own, instead of relying on screenshots or trusting one side's account.
Questions members ask
Can the other member see my number if I send a photo or voice note?
Can staff see my number?
What if someone I have blocked makes a new account?
Why does the board message me from one shared number?
Is WAGate affiliated with WhatsApp?
Run the same setup on your own community
The TNABoard add-ons talk to WAGate over the same REST API and webhooks every customer gets. Any XenForo, WordPress or custom site can do what the board does.