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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Feature]: WhatsApp read-only / observe mode (dmPolicy: "observe") [2 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#51517•Fetched 2026-04-08 01:10:08
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cmdrcoolcmdrcool
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cmdrcoolcmdrcoolRyceRyce
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Add a new dmPolicy: "observe" option that receives inbound messages without sending any agent responses back to the channel.

Root Cause

Add a new dmPolicy: "observe" option that receives inbound messages without sending any agent responses back to the channel.

Code Example

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "dmPolicy": "observe",
      "groupPolicy": "observe"
    }
  }
}
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Summary

Add a new dmPolicy: "observe" option that receives inbound messages without sending any agent responses back to the channel.

Problem to solve

There is no way to passively observe incoming WhatsApp messages without the agent automatically responding. The current dmPolicy options are: pairing/allowlist/open (agent receives AND responds) or disabled (agent receives nothing at all). I want my agent to monitor my personal WhatsApp and summarize important messages on another channel (Telegram), without ever responding to anyone on WhatsApp. With the current options, enabling any receive policy also enables auto-responses, which sent unintended AI messages to real contacts.

Proposed solution

Add a new dmPolicy value "observe" (or "read-only"):

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "dmPolicy": "observe",
      "groupPolicy": "observe"
    }
  }
}

Behavior:

  • Inbound messages are received and forwarded to agent sessions (visible in session context)
  • Agent text responses are NEVER sent back to the originating channel
  • The agent can still use the message send tool to explicitly send when instructed by the owner on another channel (e.g. Telegram)
  • This should work for all channels, not just WhatsApp

Alternatives considered

No response

Impact

  • Affected: All users running WhatsApp on a personal number (very common setup)
  • Severity: High — without this, the agent either sees nothing (disabled) or sends unintended messages to real contacts (allowlist/open)
  • Frequency: Every session where WhatsApp monitoring is desired
  • Consequence: Unintended AI messages sent to contacts (embarrassing, confusing), or complete inability to monitor WhatsApp at all

Evidence/examples

No response

Additional information

No response

extent analysis

Fix Plan

To implement the new dmPolicy: "observe" option, follow these steps:

  • Update the configuration to include the new policy:
{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "dmPolicy": "observe",
      "groupPolicy": "observe"
    }
  }
}
  • Modify the agent's message handling logic to check for the new policy:
if (channel.dmPolicy === 'observe') {
  // Receive and forward inbound messages, but do not send responses
  receiveMessage(message);
} else {
  // Handle other policies as before
}
  • Add a check to prevent auto-responses when the policy is set to "observe":
if (channel.dmPolicy !== 'observe' && agentResponse) {
  // Send response back to the channel
  sendMessage(agentResponse);
}
  • Update the message send tool to allow explicit sending of messages when instructed by the owner:
if (ownerInstruction && channel.dmPolicy === 'observe') {
  // Send message explicitly when instructed by the owner
  sendMessage(message);
}

Verification

To verify that the fix worked, test the following scenarios:

  • Set dmPolicy to "observe" and send a message to the WhatsApp channel. The agent should receive the message and forward it to the session context, but not send a response back to the channel.
  • Set dmPolicy to "observe" and use the message send tool to send a message explicitly. The agent should send the message to the channel.
  • Set dmPolicy to a different value (e.g. "allowlist") and send a message to the WhatsApp channel. The agent should receive the message and send a response back to the channel.

Extra Tips

  • Make sure to update the documentation to reflect the new dmPolicy option and its behavior.
  • Consider adding logging or monitoring to track the usage of the new policy and identify any potential issues.

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