WhatsApp moves beyond phone numbers with new usernames

WhatsApp will soon let people chat with usernames instead of phone numbers, parent company Meta announced. In an upcoming update, you'll be able to give out your WhatsApp username to people rather than sharing your phone number. Though you can't use usernames just yet, WhatsApp is letting you reserve them on iOS or Android if you have the latest version of the app.

Meta made the announcement in June, sharing that there were situations where people would want to join groups or communicate with people they've just met, yet feel iffy about giving out their phone numbers. This is because phone numbers are intimate and personal, and tied to so many aspects of life like banking, social media, and even communicating with government bureaucracy. Though previously built around phone numbers alone as a text replacement app, this new feature will allow users to set a barrier between WhatsApp and their regular phone.

"Usernames are our latest step to make WhatsApp even more private. There's no directory to browse and no suggestions – people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time. To help control who can reach you on WhatsApp with your username, we've built an optional username key that others will need to know to message you," the WhatsApp team explained in a blog post.

It's a feature that rival messaging app Telegram supports for many of the same reasons.

Users on the latest version of WhatsApp can reserve usernames for now under the Settings > Account > Username screen on Android phones and iPhones, and WhatsApp has taken the liberty of reserving select usernames for large brands and personalities who already have Meta accounts on Facebook or Instagram, allowing them to claim their usernames when ready.

WhatsApp is becoming more like the rest of Meta

WhatsApp was previously an app that had your phone number as its single point of entry, but Meta has been working to move away from that. Current versions of the app allow users to log in with email and bypass the phone number and SMS-based login process, and now this new username addition means you can use WhatsApp almost entirely without relying on your phone number after a one-time setup and keep them largely invisible to others.

It's a lot more similar to other Meta apps in execution, and with Instagram Plus and WhatsApp Plus now both launched, it's clear the company wants all its communication apps on the same page. Usernames may seem like a small addition, but they remove one of WhatsApp's longest-standing pain points. For anyone who's hesitated to give their phone number to a stranger, a marketplace buyer, or a new group chat, they're arguably one of the app's most meaningful privacy upgrades in years.