# Bring your existing contact list into Milvao

> Milvao's CSV and Excel import lets the owner upload a CSV or XLSX list of people already in the community's WhatsApp groups, match its columns and read a report before anything is saved. Imported people are kept as people who haven't joined yet: not members, never offered requests, not listed anywhere and not messaged. When one of them sends JOIN, Milvao shows the imported details and saves them only if the person confirms.

Source: https://milvao.com/integrations/csv-and-excel-import · Updated 2026-11-05

## Key takeaways

- Only the owner imports and sends invites. Operators see who has joined, copy join links and remove people from the list.
- Nobody is messaged when you import. Invites stay off until the owner turns them on and confirms these people agreed to hear from the community.
- When someone on the list sends JOIN, Milvao asks Is this right? and saves the details only if they tap Yes.
- Who has joined shows, per group, how many people from your lists have joined.
- People who haven't joined are deleted after 90 days, and the uploaded file is deleted as soon as the import is done.

## How CSV and Excel import works

1. Open Members and click Import, then choose a file or drop it on the box.
2. Match the columns. Milvao guesses from your header names, and you choose the column for each field, a default country code and a default group.
3. Click Check the file. Nothing is saved yet.
4. Read the report: rows without a phone number, numbers that aren't valid, repeated numbers, people who are already members or already imported, and people who asked not to be messaged, by row number.
5. Click Import and confirm. A join link is made for each group, the uploaded file is deleted, and nobody is messaged.

Cancel import deletes the file and saves nothing, and a file you upload but don't import is deleted after 24 hours. Download report gives row numbers and problems only, never names or numbers.

## File format and the sample CSV

Your file needs a header row, one row per person and a phone number column. Everything else is optional. Under File format, Download sample CSV gives the columns below with four rows of made-up people, and the same section lists the exact names of your groups, cities, skills and profile questions to copy into your file.

| Field | Needed | Header names it recognises (some of them) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Phone number | Yes | Phone, Mobile, WhatsApp number, WA number, Contact number |
| Name | No | Name, Full name, Member name, Display name |
| City | No | City, Town, Location, Based in |
| Skills | No | Skills, Services, Expertise, Profession, Industry |
| Group | No | Group, Chapter, Batch, Cohort, Circle |
| Profile questions | No | The question's label or key |

Files can be .csv, .tsv, .txt or .xlsx, up to 5 MB, 5,000 people and 50 columns. Numbers starting with + or 00 keep their own country code; others get the default you choose, India unless you change it. In Excel, format the phone column as text first, or it drops the leading + and can lose digits.

## When someone on the list joins

Being in a spreadsheet isn't the same as agreeing to use Milvao, so an imported person becomes a member only by sending JOIN from the same number. They join the group in the link they used, and the group from your list too if it's different. The first message after the welcome shows the details you imported and asks Is this right?, with Yes, that's right and Change.

Yes fills only the profile fields that are still empty, then the usual questions continue. Change deletes the imported details and the usual questions start. Values that aren't in your lists, and answers that don't fit a question, are left out of the message.

## Seeing who has joined

The Import members page shows Who has joined for all your imports and by group: imported, invited, joined, not joined and removed. Each import lists the people who haven't joined yet, with their name and a masked number.

- Copy join link copies their group's join link, to send from your own WhatsApp.
- Copy message copies a short personal note with the link.
- The bin button removes the person from the list and deletes their details.

## Invites are off by default

WhatsApp allows messages only to people who agreed to hear from you, and messages to people who didn't can get your number limited or blocked. So the owner first switches on Send WhatsApp invites to imported people and ticks a confirmation, recorded with their name and the time, then confirms again on each import before pressing Send invites.

- One invite per person, with their join link, and at most one reminder after 7 days if the owner chooses it.
- At most 20 a minute and 500 a day for your community, invites and reminders together.
- Invites pause when your number's quality rating isn't green, and wait until your number is connected and the Member invite template is approved by Meta.
- Anyone who replies STOP or NO is never messaged again and is skipped in later imports. People who joined get nothing.

## Privacy of imported lists

- Numbers are stored encrypted, and screens show only the last 4 digits.
- People who haven't joined after 90 days are deleted automatically. The counts stay.
- Imported details of someone who joins are deleted once they tap Yes, that's right or Change.
- For people who replied STOP or NO, Milvao keeps only a scrambled key of their number, so they are never invited again.
- The audit log records every import, invite switch and removal with counts only. Your community stays responsible for the list it uploads.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does importing add people to my community?

No. They stay people who haven't joined yet until they send JOIN themselves. They get no requests and appear in no directory or member list.

### Are imported people messaged automatically?

No. Nobody is messaged unless the owner turns invites on, confirms those people agreed to hear from the community, and presses Send invites on an import.

### Do my column names have to match exactly?

No. Milvao suggests a column for each field from the header names, ignoring capital letters and punctuation, and you confirm or change each one. Only the phone number column is required.

### Which file types work?

CSV, TSV, TXT and XLSX files up to 5 MB. Only the first sheet of an Excel file is read. Open old .xls files and save them as .xlsx or .csv first.

### Can operators run an import?

No. Importing and sending invites are owner-only. Operators can see who has joined, copy join links and remove people from the list.

## Sources

- [Milvao Help Center: Importing members from a spreadsheet](https://milvao.com/help/community/importing-members) (checked 2026-11-05)
- [Milvao Help Center: Your data and how long we keep it](https://milvao.com/help/privacy-and-security/data-and-retention) (checked 2026-11-05)

## Related pages

- [WhatsApp group join link tracking](https://milvao.com/features/join-links)
- [Community member directory](https://milvao.com/features/member-directory)
- [Importing members (Help Center)](https://milvao.com/help/community/importing-members)
- [DPDP Act compliance](https://milvao.com/dpdp-compliance)