WhatsApp’s new feature will allow users to share their usernames with others instead of phone numbers.
Users will reportedly be able to contest the ownership of the username
Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Grant Davies
WhatsApp has been working the new usernames feature for several months. The instant messaging platform, in November last year, sent emails to business account holders, asking them to prepare for the rollout of the new feature in 2026. Now, WhatsApp has introduced the ability to create unique usernames for users as a security and privacy measure, according to a report. The feature is currently said to be rolling out in phases to a limited number of Android and iOS usersm, and a wider release is expected to take place later this year. WhatsApp is soon expected to allow users to share their usernames with others instead of their phone numbers.
Feature tracker WABetaInfo claims that the instant messaging platform has started rolling out the new usernames feature, which allows users to create unique usernames for their accounts. The privacy feature is said to have been released to a limited number of Android and iOS users, and the new functionality is reportedly rolling out in phases. However, the tech firm has yet to confirm these details.
Users can reportedly check whether they are part of the initial rollout by visiting the profile settings section in the app. The new WhatsApp feature will let users simply share their usernames with other users. Hence, they will not have to provide their phone numbers to new people if they do not wish to do the same, working similarly to other social media platforms that let users set a pseudonym. The phone numbers will reportedly not be displayed to others who contact users with the usernames.
WABetaInfo also says that the platform has set a limit of 3 to 35 characters for usernames. Moreover, the usernames must not start “www.” or end with a domain, such as “.com”, “.in”, “.edu”, or “.net”, as this might reportedly lead to others believing that they are interacting with a website.
Usernames on WhatsApp will reportedly require at least one alphabet, preventing users from creating usernames only with special characters or numbers, while also allowing the use of underscores, lowercase letters, and periods.
On top of this, the WhatsApp username must reportedly be available across Meta products. Hence, you can create a username that already exists on Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp. The report added that users will have the option to confirm that they are the owner of that username on those platforms before using the same on the instant messaging app. For this, they will have to link their other accounts via Accounts Center.
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