---
title: "Add and import contacts in Kanal"
description: "The Contacts page: add a contact with New contact, import a CSV or XLSX file with Import, understand contact statuses and Kanal World."
url: https://help.getkanal.com/en/articles/109-add-and-import-contacts-in-kanal
collection: "FAQ"
updated: 2026-10-31
language: en
alternates: [fr-fr]
---

# Add and import contacts in Kanal

The Contacts page: add a contact with New contact, import a CSV or XLSX file with Import, understand contact statuses and Kanal World.

The **Contacts** section brings together your whole WhatsApp audience. Contacts are added automatically (Shopify, chat widget, automations, inbound messages), and you can also add them yourself, one by one or by importing a file.

## The Contacts page

At the top of the page, counters sum up your database: the total number of **Contacts**, then the number of **Opted-in**, **Opted-out**, **Unknown** and **In conversation** contacts.

**In conversation** is just a counter of the contacts you are currently exchanging with. It is not a status: each of these contacts stays Opted-in, Opted-out or Unknown.

The table then lists your contacts with their name, number, email, status, creation date and last interaction. You can:

-   search for a contact by name, phone number or email;
    
-   sort the table;
    
-   click a contact to open their conversation in the **Inbox**.
    

To target your contacts with more precise criteria, use lists and segments in **Lists & Segments** (segments require the Scale plan or higher). See [Understanding and using lists on Kanal](https://help.getkanal.com/en/articles/66-understanding-and-using-lists-on-kanal.md) and [Understanding and using segments on Kanal](https://help.getkanal.com/en/articles/67-understanding-and-using-segments-on-kanal.md).

## Contact statuses

-   **Opted-in**: the contact agreed to receive your WhatsApp messages.
    
-   **Opted-out**: the contact unsubscribed. They no longer receive any message, neither campaigns nor automations, transactional messages included.
    
-   **Unknown**: Kanal does not know their consent status. This is the case for contacts created from Shopify or added by hand.
    

> **Warning:** Campaigns are sent to all your contacts except **Opted-out** ones: an **Unknown** contact receives them. Meta requires customer consent for marketing messages. Only add contacts who agreed to receive your WhatsApp messages, otherwise your account risks being blocked by recipients, which lowers its quality. Unsubscribes are covered in [Managing unsubscribes (opt-out) on WhatsApp](https://help.getkanal.com/en/articles/76-managing-unsubscribes-opt-out-on-whatsapp.md).

## Add a contact

Click **New contact** at the top right of the page, then enter the phone number in international format (with the country code) and the name. The contact is created with the **Unknown** status.

## Import contacts

1.  Click **Import** at the top right of the page.
    
2.  Choose a CSV or XLSX file. A file template is available for download to help you prepare it.
    
3.  Match each column of your file to a Kanal field: the phone number (required), the name and, if you have one, the opt-in column. The other columns become contact variables.
    
4.  Name the list that will hold the imported contacts.
    
5.  Tick the consent checkbox or leave it unticked (see below), then confirm the import.
    

Good to know:

-   The import creates a list with the imported contacts, under the name you gave it. You will find it in **Lists & Segments**, ready for a campaign.
    
-   An unsubscribed contact (**Opted-out**) is never re-subscribed by an import.
    
-   An import can also unsubscribe contacts: the value "stop" in the opt-in column sets them to **Opted-out**.
    

### Consent at import

The consent checkbox sets to **Opted-in** every imported contact who is not unsubscribed, including those whose opt-in column says "inconnu" or is empty.

To keep some contacts as **Unknown**:

1.  add an opt-in column to your file and fill it with the value "inconnu" for these contacts;
    
2.  match this column to the opt-in field during the import;
    
3.  leave the consent checkbox unticked.
    

### The number cleanup option

The number cleanup option puts your numbers in international format. Numbers without a country code get the **+33** (France) code by default.

> **Warning:** If not all your customers are in France, add the country code to every number in your file before importing. Otherwise, a foreign number entered without a country code will be treated as a French number.

## What the Contacts page does not do

-   Delete a contact.
    
-   Export your contacts. To export, use a list or a segment in **Lists & Segments**.
    

## Kanal World

**Kanal World** shows your contacts on a globe, grouped by country. You can see at a glance where your audience is, for example before scheduling a campaign by time zone.