JAKARTA - WhatsApp is preparing a username feature that allows users to communicate without having to share a personal phone number. This feature is important, especially for users who often enter new groups, contact business contacts, or want to keep their mobile phone number more private.
Launching a report by CNET, quoted Wednesday, July 1, Meta has started taking reservations for WhatsApp usernames ahead of the official launch of the feature later this year.
Once the feature is active, the username will be the main identity that is visible to new contacts. Phone numbers can still be shared, but only if the user chooses to provide them manually.
This move makes WhatsApp chase other conversation apps that have used usernames first, such as Signal. WhatsApp itself has conveyed plans to introduce this feature since 2024.
Phone numbers have long been the easiest way to contact people. The problem is, phone numbers are also attached to a lot of personal data. Once spread in groups, business contacts, or random conversations, the number is difficult to really withdraw.
WhatsApp states that the username feature makes it easier to connect on the application. There is no open directory and no username suggestions. Other people have to know the exact username to contact the user for the first time.
According to a WhatsApp representative to CNET, this feature protects the user's phone number from new contacts. If you want others to know the number, the user must share it themselves.
However, not everything changes. If someone has saved the user's number in the contact list, the display in WhatsApp will still work as usual.
The way to order a username is also made simple. Users can open the You tab, go to Account, then select the Username option. After that, users can check if the desired name is still available.
WhatsApp also gives the option to take the same username as an Instagram or Facebook account. Once confirmed, the username can no longer be claimed by another account.
Users will receive a notification when the official username feature is launched in the coming months. Once active, accounts can be found via username or a combination of username and numeric key.
For WhatsApp users, this feature can be a small but important protector. Phone numbers are often spread through work groups, communities, sales, and customer service. With a username, users have a little more control over who can know their personal number.
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