From Monday, WhatsApp’s three billion account holders will be able to reserve a unique username – and eventually chat without ever revealing their phone number. The Meta-owned firm said the feature, rolling out globally over the next few months, is designed to give users more control over their privacy. Once fully activated, people will connect after exchanging usernames only, with the option to block or report unwanted messages. Names are limited to 35 characters and, except for high-profile officials and celebrities whose names will be blocked, there are few restrictions. “It is unlikely WhatsApp will be overrun with users calling themselves Donald Trump, for example,” the platform noted.
Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said the company had heard from users that they did not always want to share their phone numbers, 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.
“WhatsApp will allow its three billion users to chat without sharing phone numbers by reserving unique usernames from Monday.”
But privacy experts urged caution. Carisa Veliz, a professor at Oxford University and author of Privacy is Power, called it “a good feature” but warned: “Remember WhatsApp is not a privacy-friendly app overall. It collects much metadata about users for marketing purposes. 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.” WhatsApp does not use the content of private chats for advertising, as those are protected by end-to-end encryption. However, it does use data such as who you message and when to support advertising.
Once the feature is fully rolled out, individual phone numbers will no longer be visible on WhatsApp. There will be no public username directory, and phone numbers will still be required to create an account. The minimum age remains 13, and messaging apps are not included in the UK’s upcoming social media ban for under-16s, due next year. Separately, WhatsApp recently announced that Kunal Shah, founder of an Indian fintech start-up, will take over as head of the platform, with Will Cathcart stepping down after seven years.