WhatsApp is set to allow its more than three billion users to communicate through usernames rather than phone numbers, addressing a longstanding privacy concern on one of the world's most widely used messaging platforms. According to Antigua News Room, the Meta-owned app announced Monday that it has begun allowing users to reserve unique usernames ahead of a wider rollout later this year.
Once the feature is fully deployed, users will have the option to be found and contacted exclusively through their chosen handle, without exposing their phone number. WhatsApp described the change as a core privacy feature, built without a public username directory or autocomplete suggestions — meaning anyone wishing to reach a person for the first time must know their exact username.
"We have designed this as a core privacy feature," said Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's vice president of product. "People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time."
WhatsApp currently offers end-to-end encrypted messaging across smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. Until now, any user with someone's phone number could initiate contact. The app's existing privacy tools have been limited to blocking individual users and silencing calls from unknown numbers.
The company stated in a blog post that over the "coming months," users will gain the option to be contacted only by username, though no precise timeline was provided.
Anticipating high demand for desirable handles, WhatsApp opened username reservations early. "I think a lot of people will go and get usernames, and that's why we decided to open reservations early," Newton-Rex told reporters.
Businesses, organisations and content creators who already hold accounts on Meta's Instagram and Facebook platforms will be given the opportunity to claim matching usernames on WhatsApp. Usernames must be between three and 35 characters in length.
To guard against impersonation, WhatsApp has said it will withhold certain usernames associated with celebrities, public figures and government entities. While WhatsApp remains less dominant in the United States — where traditional text messaging is preferred — the platform is widely used across Europe, Asia and much of the rest of the world.
