WhatsApp Launches Usernames to Hide Your Phone Number
The scramble to secure prime digital real estate on the world's most popular messaging app has officially begun. Moving to close a major, long-standing privacy loophole, WhatsApp has announced it will allow its three billion global account holders to connect using unique usernames rather than exchanging personal phone numbers.
While the messaging feature will fully roll out later this year, the Meta-owned platform opened up early reservations for custom handles on Monday. Users will receive an in-app alert when the option goes live in their region, allowing them to secure a username before the general public gains access.
How the New System Works
The introduction of usernames is a massive shift for an app that has required a phone number to start a conversation since its creation. Once the feature is completely active across the ecosystem, individual numbers will be hidden from view. However, a phone number will still be required to create a WhatsApp account in the first place.
| Feature | Policy Guidelines & Technical Rules |
| Character Requirements | Minimum of 3 and a maximum of 35 characters |
| Searchability | There will not be a public directory and no autocomplete suggestions when searching for others usernames, so you must know someone's exact username when searching for them |
| Cross-Platform Claims | Creators and businesses can port existing Facebook or Instagram handles |
| Flexibility | Users can change or entirely delete their usernames at any time |
| Minimum Age | 13 |
To check if the reservation portal is active on your device, navigate to Settings, tap Account, and look for the Username tab. If you struggle to think of a unique handle, WhatsApp has integrated a built-in username generator to help build a custom name.
A Block on Celebrity Impersonators
With billions of active users on the platform, the race to claim short, recognizable handles is expected to be fierce. However, if you are hoping to snag a famous moniker, you are out of luck.
To prevent widespread fraud and impersonation, WhatsApp is permanently withholding high-profile names. Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's vice president of product, clarified that the highest-profile names, including public figures, government entities, and celebrities, are completely blocked from being claimed by anyone other than the person/entity themselves.
“The highest-profile names, like public figures or government entities or celebrities, are held,” Newton-Rex said. “So, they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners. Look-alike derivatives of known names are also held back as well.”
Privacy Feature or Clever Marketing?
The company is heavily promoting the update as an essential tool to give people more authority over their personal digital footprint, particularly when interacting with strangers or joining massive group threads.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Newton-Rex told reporters. “People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” she said. “Usernames are designed to give you control over who gets to see your phone number in the first place. t's an optional feature; you choose your own username, you can change it or remove it, and it doesn't have to match your handle or account name on any other app.”
For individuals seeking maximum security, the platform is introducing an additional defense mechanism: a unique four-digit key. If activated during the reservation phase, a new contact will have to know both your exact username and this passcode just to send you an initial message. Standard options to block or report malicious accounts will remain active.
Despite the upgrade, privacy advocates urge consumers to take the tech giant's marketing claims with a grain of salt. Competitor app Signal rolled out a matching number-hiding service in 2024, and critics point out that WhatsApp's parent company, Meta, still tracks extensive user behavior.
"It is a good feature, but even if it does offer more privacy, remember WhatsApp is not a privacy-friendly app overall," said Carisa Veliz, a professor at Oxford University and author of Privacy is Power. "It collects much metadata about users for marketing purposes. We have to remember that WhatsApp is owned by Meta - one of the tech companies with the worst track records when it comes to privacy."
While end-to-end encryption ensures Meta cannot read the actual contents of your text messages for advertising, the company actively utilizes metadata, including exactly who you message and the specific times you interact, to fuel its lucrative advertising network.
Fortunately for younger users, because messaging platforms are categorized differently than standard social networks, WhatsApp will not be included in the United Kingdom's upcoming social media ban for children under 16 years old, which is slated for implementation next year.
