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WhatsApp usernames rollout aims to hide phone numbers

Editorial Team

The Meta-owned messaging app adds handles as a new privacy feature, limiting first-time contact without exposing phone numbers.

WhatsApp said on Monday it has begun allowing users to reserve unique usernames, a change that will eventually let people be found and contacted by a handle rather than sharing a phone number on the Meta-owned messaging service used by more than three billion people.

The update targets a longstanding WhatsApp privacy gap: until now, anyone with your phone number could reach you. By shifting first-time contact to WhatsApp usernames, the company says users will gain more control over who can message them and how they can be found.

Key developments

WhatsApp said it has started letting users reserve unique usernames ahead of a broader rollout later this year.
Over the “coming months,” users will get the option to be found and contacted only by their username — not their phone number — the company said in a blog post.
WhatsApp said the feature is built as a core privacy measure, with no public directory of usernames and no autocomplete suggestions.
Usernames must be between three and 35 characters.
To reduce impersonation risks, WhatsApp will hold back certain usernames for high-profile people or groups, including celebrities, public figures and government entities.

Context and background

WhatsApp provides end-to-end encrypted messaging across smartphones, tablets and desktop computers, but it has historically relied on phone numbers as the primary identifier for accounts and for initiating contact.

Until now, WhatsApp’s privacy controls for unwanted contact have largely centered on blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers, while profile names are mainly visible in group chats to people who do not have a user’s contact information saved.

The move comes amid ongoing scrutiny of messaging-platform privacy and security, including Elon Musk's Criticism of WhatsApp's Security. While text messaging remains more common than WhatsApp in the United States, the app is widely used across Europe, Asia and many other regions.

Details and evidence

WhatsApp said users will need to know someone’s exact username to contact them for the first time, reflecting the company’s decision to avoid a searchable directory and autocomplete suggestions.

“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” WhatsApp Vice President of Product Alice Newton-Rex told reporters, according to Voice of Urdu.

Newton-Rex also said the company opened reservations early because many users are expected to compete for desirable usernames.

WhatsApp said companies, organisations and creators with existing accounts on Meta’s social media platforms Instagram and Facebook will have an opportunity to claim their usernames on WhatsApp — part of a broader Meta ecosystem that also includes efforts such as AI Meta can translate many low resource languages.

Current status and next steps

WhatsApp said username reservations have begun, with a wider rollout planned later this year. The company did not provide a more specific timeline beyond saying the option to be contacted only by username will become available over the “coming months.”

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WhatsApp usernames rollout aims to hide phone numbers