WhatsApp adds usernames to reduce phone number sharing

WhatsApp will let users chat without sharing their phone numbers, introducing unique usernames in a major privacy change for the Meta-owned messaging platform used by more than three billion people.

The company said Monday that users will begin to reserve usernames through the app, ahead of a wider global rollout over the coming months. Once the feature is fully activated, people will be able to connect by exchanging usernames only, rather than phone numbers.

The change is optional. WhatsApp said users will be able to remove or change their usernames at any time, and phone numbers will still be required to create a WhatsApp account. The company said there will be no public username directory and no autocomplete suggestions, meaning someone will need to know a user’s exact handle to contact them for the first time.

“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters, according to Al Jazeera. “People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time.”

Newton-Rex, identified by the BBC as WhatsApp’s head of product, said she had heard from users who did not always want to share phone numbers to stay in touch, particularly in group chats. She said she hoped the feature would “give users control over how they choose to show up” on the app.

Until now, WhatsApp users could be contacted by anyone who had their phone number. The app already offers end-to-end encrypted communication across smartphones, tablets and desktop computers, and users can block individual accounts, report unwanted messages and silence unknown callers. Once usernames are fully rolled out, individual phone numbers will no longer be visible on WhatsApp, the BBC reported.

Usernames must be unique and will be limited to 35 characters, according to the BBC. Al Jazeera reported that they must be between three and 35 characters. WhatsApp is expected to apply some restrictions to prevent impersonation, including holding back usernames tied to high-profile people or groups such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.

That means users are unlikely to be able to claim names belonging to well-known figures. Companies, organizations and creators that already have accounts on Meta platforms Instagram and Facebook will get the chance to claim their usernames on WhatsApp, Al Jazeera reported.

“I think a lot of people will go and get usernames, and that’s why we decided to open reservations early,” Newton-Rex said.

The secure messaging app Signal introduced a similar username feature in 2024, the BBC reported.

Some privacy advocates said the new tool does not address broader concerns about WhatsApp’s data practices. “It is a good feature, but even if it does offer more privacy, remember WhatsApp is not a privacy-friendly app overall,” said Carisa Veliz, a professor at Oxford University and author of “Privacy is Power.”

“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.”

WhatsApp does not use the content of private chats for advertising because they are protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning the company cannot read the messages. But the BBC reported that it does use data such as who users message and when to support advertising.

The platform’s minimum age is 13. Messaging apps will not be included in the United Kingdom’s upcoming social media ban for under-16s, which is due to be implemented next year, the BBC reported.

WhatsApp also 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 in the role.