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WhatsApp adds usernames
WhatsApp’s introduction of usernames is meant to let users “reserve your username now, before the feature launches later this year,” so they can contact others without swapping phone numbers.
“reserve your username now, before the feature launches later this year”
The change is framed by WhatsApp as privacy protection, with the company saying its encryption “ensures that only you and the person you are communicating with can read or listen to them, preventing anyone in between – including WhatsApp, Meta, or cyber criminals – from accessing your data”.
But Nigeria Communications Week quotes two experts warning that usernames will be “fair game for hackers,” and that the identifiers will also be accessible to governmental agencies and advertisers.
Trading View adds that WhatsApp’s approach could help Meta position the update as a controlled privacy tool rather than a discovery feature, while noting there will be no directory or username suggestions so users must know the exact username to contact someone for the first time.
India pauses rollout
India’s government directed Meta-owned WhatsApp not to roll out its proposed usernames feature in India until further consultations are completed, and asked the company to submit a detailed explanation within three days on how the system will operate and prevent misuse.
In a notice issued to WhatsApp’s chief compliance officer, MeitY said the change could “materially increase” incidents of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation by making it easier for malicious actors to contact unsuspecting users.
The Times of India reports that WhatsApp responded by saying the usernames feature has not yet gone live and will be rolled out gradually later this year, while insisting that “Users will still require a phone number to use WhatsApp”.
The same reporting says the government also reminded WhatsApp that as a “significant social media intermediary”, it is bound by due diligence requirements under the IT Rules, including provisions related to impersonation, identity theft and tracing the first originator of messages where lawfully required.
Safeguards vs. abuse risk
As India weighs the feature, the government’s notice and related reporting focus on impersonation and identity spoofing risks, including the possibility of usernames resembling those of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions and government agencies.
“online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks”
Open Magazine quotes the notice’s concern that the feature may materially increase “online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims”.
WhatsApp, in turn, says it has built safeguards and that it will reserve “public figures, government entities, celebrities and verified Meta accounts” while blocking lookalike variants, and it also says it has limited how many new people an account can contact and added systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns.
The debate is also reflected in expert warnings, with Paytm founder and chief executive officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma warning that “Soon you will have verified username on WhatsApp, and then unverified similar-sounding usernames,” and MobiKwik CEO Bipin Preet Singh calling the update “not a good idea at all” and warning it will lead to “proliferation of fraud and impersonation”.
