WhatsApp Finally Responds to Government's Username Feature Notice, Here's What's Going On

WhatsApp has officially replied to the Indian government's notice questioning its upcoming "username" feature, and officials are now going through that response.

Last Wednesday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent WhatsApp a formal notice raising red flags about the feature, which would let people chat on the app without revealing their phone number. The government's worry? That hiding phone numbers could open the floodgates for more fraud, phishing attempts, so-called "digital arrest" scams, and cases of people impersonating others.

Along with the notice, the government told WhatsApp in no uncertain terms that don't launch this feature in India until we're fully satisfied with the answers you give us.

WhatsApp didn't rush a reply. Instead, the company asked for more time and promised it wouldn't roll the feature out in India while discussions were still ongoing. That promise has held and now, the company has finally submitted its formal written response.

Where things stand today

Sources say MeitY has received WhatsApp's reply and is currently reviewing it. WhatsApp itself hasn't said anything publicly about what it actually told the ministry.

Interestingly, earlier the same day, IT Secretary S Krishnan confirmed at the CII GCC Business Summit that WhatsApp's response was expected Thursday. He was also asked whether Telegram and Signal which got similar notices had replied yet. His answer: not yet, they still have some time left, and the ministry will look into it once those come in too.

This isn't the first direct contact between Meta and the government on this issue either. A Meta team reportedly met with IT ministry officials in person last Friday, after being summoned specifically to discuss the username rollout.

What exactly did the government ask?

In its notice, the government essentially asked Meta to justify why it shouldn't face action under India's IT Act and related rules, given the potential for the feature to be misused for cybercrime. It also reminded WhatsApp that, given its scale in India, the platform is legally classified as a "significant social media intermediary" - a label that comes with extra due-diligence responsibilities under Indian law.

What WhatsApp says it's doing to prevent misuse

Even before this latest reply, WhatsApp had already laid out some of its safety plans publicly. The company says the feature isn't live yet and will roll out gradually later this year and only after this process with the government wraps up.

According to WhatsApp, it has already reserved usernames tied to public figures, celebrities, government bodies, and verified Meta accounts, so random users can't grab those names and pose as someone official. It's also blocking lookalike spellings of well-known names to cut down on copycat impersonation.

Importantly, a phone number will still be required to actually create and use a WhatsApp account; usernames are simply an added option, not a replacement. On top of that, WhatsApp says people will only be able to message someone if they already know their exact username (there's no public directory to browse), and the company plans to cap how many new contacts an account can message, block repeated guessing attempts at usernames, and use detection systems aimed at catching abuse patterns early.

There's also a transparency layer being added: when someone gets a first message from an unfamiliar username, they'll be shown some context like whether the sender is a brand-new account, an existing contact, part of a shared group, or based in another country before deciding whether to reply.

It's not just WhatsApp under the scanner

MeitY didn't stop at WhatsApp. It also sent similar notices to Telegram and Signal, asking both platforms to explain how their own existing username systems guard against fraud and impersonation. Worth noting: WhatsApp's user base in India (around 500 million) dwarfs Telegram's by a huge margin, which is likely why it's getting the most attention here.

And this username issue isn't happening in isolation.  Both Meta and Telegram are facing separate regulatory heat right now too. Just days ago, the government sent Meta a notice over child sexual abuse material reportedly showing up in Instagram ads, while Telegram was separately told to crack down on pirated movies and OTT content being shared widely on its platform.

For now, the ball is in the government's court. WhatsApp has made its case, MeitY is reviewing it, and until officials are satisfied, the username feature stays on hold in India  even as the company insists it's building in enough safeguards to keep scammers at bay.

Read More: ‘Optional, Not Searchable’: WhatsApp Defends New Username Feature Amid Govt Scrutiny, Explains Anti-Impersonation Safeguards