WhatsApp Rolls Out Username Reservation Process
WhatsApp is introducing one of its most anticipated privacy features: usernames. The new system will allow users to connect with others without revealing their phone number, although a phone number will still be required to create and maintain a WhatsApp account.
The rollout begins with a username reservation process, with the full feature expected to become available later this year. Users will be able to choose a username between three and 35 characters, provided it complies with WhatsApp’s policies. The company is also reserving certain usernames for celebrities, public figures and organizations to help prevent impersonation.
Once the feature becomes available in a user’s country, they will receive a notification and can reserve a username by navigating to Settings > Account > Username. Meta says users will also have the option to create a username key, allowing only people who know both their username and key to start a conversation with them.
The reservation process is designed to avoid duplicate usernames across WhatsApp’s user base, which now exceeds 3 billion monthly users. Unlike some competing messaging platforms, WhatsApp usernames will not be searchable within the app. Instead, someone will need to know your exact username before they can contact you. Users will also be able to change or remove their username at any time.
According to Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s Vice President and Head of Product, the feature is intended to give people greater control over their personal information. She noted that sharing a phone number with someone new can feel like a significant step because it is often linked to many other aspects of a person’s digital life.
The addition brings WhatsApp more in line with messaging services such as Telegram, Signal and Wire, all of which have offered username-based communication for several years. However, WhatsApp’s implementation places a stronger emphasis on privacy by making usernames non-searchable and optional – which makes sense, given that the platform is a different kind of social app to other industry giants like X or Facebook and doesn’t focus on content or profile discovery.
