Coaching over WhatsApp
You can talk to the YOUB coach on WhatsApp as well as in the app. Both are one conversation: what you write on WhatsApp appears in the chat in the app, and the coach has the same context and history wherever you write. To use WhatsApp, you verify your phone number once in the app. You can then send the coach text, voice messages, photos and .fit activity files, and the coach's own messages reach you on WhatsApp while you are chatting there. Talking to the coach on WhatsApp is part of the coach subscription or the free trial.
One Conversation in the App and on WhatsApp
There is one conversation per account. In the chat in the app, messages from WhatsApp and from the app appear together in the order they were sent. You can start a topic on WhatsApp and continue it in the app, or the other way round, and the coach reads the full history either way.
Replies on WhatsApp are kept short to suit the channel. For a longer explanation, ask the coach to go into detail, or continue the conversation in the app.
Connecting WhatsApp
WhatsApp is connected in the app under Settings > WhatsApp Connection, or in the WhatsApp step of the account setup:
- Switch on Enable WhatsApp.
- Enter your phone number with the country code (for example +43 …).
- Tap Send code. A verification code is sent to that number on WhatsApp.
- Enter the 6-digit code under Verification code and tap Verify.
The screen then shows your Verified number, and you can write to the coach on WhatsApp right away.
A message from a number that is not verified does not reach the coach. If the number belongs to no YOUB account, the reply points you to creating one; if it belongs to an account but is not verified yet, the reply asks you to verify it in the app.
What You Can Send on WhatsApp
| You send | What happens |
|---|---|
| Text | The coach answers like in the app |
| Voice message | The voice message is transcribed and answered like a written message |
| Photo (.jpg, .png, .webp) | The coach looks at the picture and answers on what it shows, for example a screenshot of a training plan or a race profile |
| .fit activity file | The activity is imported, analysed and added to your training log |
Other files, such as PDFs, spreadsheets, Word documents, videos and route files (.gpx, .tcx, .kml), are not accepted on WhatsApp. YOUB replies saying so, and the coach cannot read the file. Send the content as a photo or screenshot instead; for a training plan from another app, screenshots of the plan work best (see Training Plans).
WhatsApp sometimes delivers a document as a filename only, without the file behind it. In that case the coach sees that something was sent and what it was called, but has no file to open. Send the content as a photo or screenshot instead.
Messages the Coach Sends on WhatsApp
The coach also writes on its own, for example the morning check-in and the message after a recorded workout (see How YOUB Works). Each of these messages goes to one channel, chosen when it is sent:
- WhatsApp, when you have written to the coach on WhatsApp within the last 24 hours. This follows WhatsApp's rule that a business may only write freely within 24 hours of your last message.
- Push notification from the app otherwise.
Every message also appears in the chat in the app, whichever channel delivered it. To receive the coach's messages on WhatsApp, keep the conversation going there; after a day without a message from you, they arrive as push notifications.
WhatsApp and the Coach Subscription
Talking to the coach needs the coach subscription or the free trial, which lasts up to 4 weeks, depending on usage. This applies to WhatsApp in the same way as to the chat in the app. Without active coach access, a message on WhatsApp gets a short reply explaining that a subscription is needed, and everything else in YOUB keeps working: your plan, sessions, activities and watch sync. Prices are on the pricing page.
Changing or Removing Your Number
Your verified number is shown under Settings > WhatsApp Connection with a Remove number button. Tap Remove number to disconnect WhatsApp: messages from that number no longer reach the coach, and the coach's own messages arrive as push notifications. Your conversation stays in the app.
To switch to a different number, remove the current number and verify the new one as described in Connecting WhatsApp.
Related
- How YOUB Works: the coaching loop and the messages the coach sends.
- Languages and Units: which languages the coach writes in.
- FAQ: short answers to common questions.