Government to Review WhatsApp's New Username Feature Over Fears It Could Be Misused for Impersonation
The Indian government is reviewing WhatsApp’s new username feature, introduced on June 29, over fears it could be misused for impersonation. The update allows users to connect via usernames instead of phone numbers, a major privacy shift for the app’s three billion users. Officials worry the change could enable fake accounts and identity misuse. The rollout is also notable as the first major product update under WhatsApp’s new global head, Kunal Shah.
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New Delhi: Just days after WhatsApp rolled out a feature letting users hide their phone number behind a username, the Indian government has decided to take a closer look at it.
According to reports, the government plans to examine the new feature over worries that it could make it easier for people to impersonate others online. The review comes two days after Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, publicly announced the update.
What WhatsApp Actually Changed
On June 29, WhatsApp announced that users around the world can start reserving personal usernames on the app. Until now, your phone number was effectively your identity on WhatsApp, anyone who wanted to message you needed to know that number. With this update, people will be able to connect using a chosen username instead, without ever revealing their actual phone number.
WhatsApp has called it one of the biggest shifts in how people connect on the platform, which currently serves more than three billion users worldwide. Usernames can be anywhere from three to 35 characters long, and can include regular Latin letters, numbers, periods, and underscores.
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Why the Government Is Worried
The core concern is simple: if a phone number is no longer the anchor of someone's identity on WhatsApp, it could become easier for bad actors to create accounts that impersonate real people, brands, or organisations using a familiar-sounding username instead of a traceable number. That's reportedly the specific risk officials want to study before deciding how to respond.
WhatsApp has not yet issued a detailed response addressing the government's concerns.
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A Big Moment for WhatsApp's Leadership Too
The timing adds another layer of interest to this story. The username rollout is the first major product change since Kunal Shah, the founder of fintech company Cred, took over as WhatsApp's global head just last week. That said, the feature itself isn't a rushed decision, reports suggest WhatsApp has been developing it for years, with the earliest signs of it appearing as far back as May 2023.
WhatsApp's move to let users hide their phone numbers behind usernames is being pitched as a privacy upgrade, but it's also raising red flags in New Delhi. With the government now set to scrutinise the feature, how this plays out could shape whether and how it eventually rolls out for Indian users.