WhatsApp is set to let people chat without having to reveal their phone number by exchanging unique usernames instead.
The feature will be rolled out globally to the platform’s three billion account holders over the next few months, the company announced on Monday. Starting this week, users will be able to reserve a name via the app, though it will not be compulsory.
Once fully activated, WhatsApp users will be able to connect after exchanging usernames only. There will still be options to block or report unwanted messages. Names will be limited to 35 characters, with few restrictions except for some high-profile officials and celebrities whose names will not be made available to anyone else. It is unlikely, for example, that users will be able to claim the username “Donald Trump.”
The Meta-owned firm described usernames as a privacy feature. Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said she had heard from users that they did not always want to share their phone numbers to be in contact with others, particularly in group chats.
She said she hoped the feature would “give users control over how they choose to show up” on the app.
The secure messaging app Signal introduced an identical service in 2024, and WhatsApp’s move appears to be a direct response to growing user demand for greater privacy controls.
While the feature has been welcomed by many, privacy experts have urged caution. Carisa Veliz, a professor at Oxford University and author of “Privacy is Power,” said the feature offers more privacy but cautioned that WhatsApp itself is not a privacy-friendly app overall.
“It collects much metadata about users for marketing purposes,” Veliz said. “We have to remember that WhatsApp is owned by Meta one of the tech companies with the worst track records when it comes to privacy.”
Once the feature is fully rolled out, individual phone numbers will no longer be visible on WhatsApp. However, there will be no public username directory, and phone numbers will still be required to have a WhatsApp account in the first place.
