WhatsApp users will soon be able to keep their phone numbers private when messaging others, with the platform introducing a username system that replaces the need to exchange digits, the Meta-owned service announced Monday.
The shift means contact details stay hidden in situations where they would previously have been exposed, such as joining a large group chat or reaching out to an unfamiliar person or business for the first time. WhatsApp framed the change as a step “designed to protect the privacy of your phone number.”
Finding someone through their handle will require precision rather than guesswork. “There’s no directory to browse and no suggestions, so people need to know your exact username to contact you,” the company stated.
Securing a preferred handle, however, may prove difficult given the scale of the user base. Meta puts the figure at more than three billion people, a volume that makes overlapping name requests inevitable and leaves many users unlikely to land their first pick.
A reservation period will arrive in stages across different countries, the company said, with users alerted within each market once the feature becomes available to them. WhatsApp described the worldwide rollout as taking place “over the coming months.”
Businesses, content creators and organizations are being given a particular allowance: those already operating under established names on Facebook or Instagram will be permitted to carry the same usernames over to WhatsApp.
