Meta’s WhatsApp has now announced usernames, its latest privacy-focused feature, which will allow users to connect with new people without sharing their phone number. The feature will be rolled out later this year, while users will be able to reserve their preferred usernames in the coming weeks ahead of its official availability.
Read more about the update below.
WhatsApp Usernames – New Privacy Feature Announced
Until now, WhatsApp users had to share their mobile numbers in order to connect with others on the platform, and the phone number itself was treated as the official identity of a user. This is now going to change as Meta has announced the new usernames feature for WhatsApp, which will allow users to connect without sharing their phone number. To note, usernames on WhatsApp will not be listed in any searchable directory, and there won’t be any suggestions shown to users as well, meaning that the person trying to contact someone for the first time will have to know the exact username.
In addition to this, WhatsApp has also built an optional username key feature, which will be required by the person contacting another user if the receiver has assigned such a key. Thanks to this capability, it will become harder for unknown people to directly reach out to users, and this is also likely to help in reducing unwanted messages and scams on the platform.
Regarding the availability, Meta has stated that this feature will be rolled out in the coming months, and users will be notified once it becomes available. However, before its wider roll-out, the company is allowing users to reserve their preferred usernames in the coming weeks. For those who need help creating one, a username generator will be available as well. Notably, it has to be between 3 – 35 characters, lowercase letters (a to z), numbers (0 to 9), underscores (_), and periods (.). But the username cannot contain restricted words or phrases, and it should not be made up only of numbers.
Currently, the username reservation feature also appears to be rolling out gradually, as when checked on both the iOS and Android WhatsApp apps, there was no option available to set a username. As per the details shared, users will have to visit WhatsApp Settings > select ‘Account’ > and then tap on ‘Username’ to reserve their preferred username. However, since the option does not appear to be available yet on the current iOS app, an app update will most likely be rolled out for the same.
From the same settings page, users will also be able to change, edit, or delete the username that they have created. To note, a deleted username will still remain available for the same user to reclaim, and after 14 days, it will become available for other users as well. Also, if a user changes their username to a new one, the previous username will become available, and in case they wish to go back to it, they will have to check its availability again from the username settings.
Furthermore, WhatsApp also understands that some creators, small businesses, and organizations may want to maintain a consistent online presence. For such users, an option has been brought out to claim their existing Instagram or Facebook username on WhatsApp, helping them keep the same identity across Meta’s platforms.
Once usernames are available, when a user messages a person or business for the first time, the other person or business will no longer be able to see their phone number if the username feature has been enabled.
Stay tuned for more updates.
