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03-07-2026
NEW YORK: WhatsApp will let users go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a longstanding privacy gap on the app used by more than three billion people.
The Meta-owned platform said on Monday that it has begun letting users reserve unique usernames before a wider rollout later this year when people will be able to choose to be found and contacted only by their handles.
WhatsApp said the change was designed as a core privacy feature with no public directory of usernames and no autocomplete suggestions, meaning users will need to know someone’s exact username to reach them for the first time.
WhatsApp offers end-to-end encrypted communication across smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. Until now, it has allowed users to be contacted by anyone who has their phone number.
The app said in a blog post that over the “coming months”, users will get the option to be found and contacted only by their username, and not their number. It wasn’t more specific about the timeline.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters.
“People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” she said.
WhatsApp’s current privacy settings are limited to blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers.
The app also allows users to add a profile name but that’s only displayed in chat groups for other people who don’t have the user’s contact info saved.
A scramble for unique usernames
While people in the United States still prefer text messaging to WhatsApp, the app is widely used in Europe, Asia and much of the rest of the world.
Catchy online handles are highly coveted, and users will likely scramble to claim a desirable one.
“I think a lot of people will go and get usernames, and that’s why we decided to open reservations early,” Newton-Rex said.
Companies, organizations and creators with existing accounts on Meta’s social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, will get the chance to claim their usernames on WhatsApp.
Usernames need to be three to 35 characters. To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will hold back usernames for high-profile people or groups, such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.
In February, Russia has blocked messaging service WhatsApp over alleged legal breaches, urging users to switch to a state-backed alternative in what is widely seen as a bid to clamp down on free speech amid the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced the move on Thursday, attributing it to WhatsApp’s “reluctance to comply with the norms and letter of Russian law”.
He advised Russians to turn instead to MAX, a state-sponsored platform touted as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services and other services like making payments. Experts warn that MAX, which openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request, does not use the end-to-end encryption that ensures messages remain private on popular services like WhatsApp, leaving users vulnerable to state snooping.
Last year, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by US social media giant Meta, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and “terrorism” cases. (Int’l News Desk)
