The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a notice to Meta-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp over its proposed username feature. According to government sources, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned platform has been given three days to furnish a detailed explanation on the new feature and directed not to roll out the feature until consultations on the matter are over.
WhatsApp has described the feature as a privacy enhancement that will allow users to start conversations without sharing their phone numbers. However, there are concerns that it could also make impersonation and cyber fraud easier.
What is the username feature?
According to WhatsApp, users will be able to claim a unique username later this year instead of sharing their phone number while initiating a conversation. It will allow WhatsApp users to connect with others without revealing their mobile numbers. Once the feature is rolled out, users can share their username instead of phone number while starting a new conversation.
The feature is similar to Telegram, where users connect through usernames instead of phone numbers. According to the company, it adds another layer of privacy by allowing users to communicate without revealing their mobile numbers.
“To control who can message you, you can set up a 'username key', so that anyone messaging you for the very first time via your username will need the key to reach you, adding one more layer of protection for your account. You can change the key at any time,” the company said.
Why has the government raised concerns?
Officials fear fraudsters could create usernames similar to those of public figures, businesses and government entities to mislead users. They also believe users may find it harder to verify identities once phone numbers are hidden, increasing the risk of impersonation and cyber fraud.
What are experts saying?
The concerns have also been echoed by users and cybersecurity experts, who believe the feature could create new opportunities for cyber fraud if adequate safeguards are not put in place.
Entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo warned that the feature could become "a disaster" if WhatsApp fails to put adequate safeguards in place. He argued that impersonation could become significantly easier, with scammers creating usernames closely resembling those of public figures to solicit money or deceive users.
He also pointed out that many users do not fully understand verification badges, and unlike the current system, victims may no longer be able to verify someone's identity by calling the associated phone number if only a username is visible.
Echoing similar concerns, Jasveer Singh, co-founder and CEO of Knot Dating, said the feature immediately reminded him of Telegram, where anyone can contact users without knowing their phone number.
Abilash Soundararajan, founder & CEO of PrivaSapien, said the feature improves privacy by allowing users to communicate without revealing their mobile numbers. According to him, it works on pseudonymization through tokenization, where a username is mapped to a user's phone number and protected through a key.
According to Nikhil Narendran, partner at Trilegal, the feature is a positive step from a privacy-by-design perspective as it reduces the unnecessary disclosure of phone numbers. At the same time, it allows users to communicate without exposing their mobile numbers, which have increasingly become an identifier linked across multiple services.
However, he warned that username squatting, impersonation through lookalike usernames, and disputes over well-known names and brands are likely to become important issues.
“While it appears that there will be no public directory for discovering usernames, questions remain about how effectively it will deal with squatting, trademark claims and fraudulent accounts in practice. We have seen similar issues with domain names, websites and social media handles, where bad actors often register deceptively similar names to impersonate individuals and organisations. Meta may reserve usernames for celebrities, government bodies and verified entities, but whether that will be sufficient or scalable remains to be seen,” he added.
He also pointed out that it will be interesting to see how Meta approaches identity across its ecosystem. For instance, whether users will be able to retain a consistent username across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, how username conflicts will be resolved, and whether premium or verified tiers influence access to desirable usernames.
What has WhatsApp said?
According to a WhatsApp spokesperson, the company has announced the option for people to reserve their preferred username on WhatsApp. The feature is not yet live and will roll out gradually later this year.
To address concerns over impersonation, the company said it has reserved the highest-profile names—including public figures, government entities, celebrities and verified Meta accounts—so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners. It has also reserved lookalike versions of these names.
The company said users will still require a phone number to use WhatsApp and that it has built multiple safeguards into the username feature to prevent scams and impersonation. Other users will need to know the exact username to initiate a conversation, limits will be placed on how many new people an account can contact, repeated attempts to guess a user’s username key will be blocked, and systems have been put in place to detect and remove activities that show common impersonation and abuse patterns.
“When the feature becomes available and someone sends you a message for the first time via your username, we will show you if they’re a new account, if they’re your contact, if you have groups in common, and if they’re based in a different country, so you can decide whether to respond,” said the platform.