GoKawiilWhatsApp is preparing to roll out usernames, a feature that lets you chat with others on the platform without handing over your personal phone number -- you'll simply share your unique WhatsApp username instead.
WhatsApp first announced the goal of providing this feature in 2024. Other privacy-focused chat apps like Signal have supported usernames for a few years now.
Meta, which also owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, started allowing users to reserve their WhatsApp usernames on Monday, ahead of the feature's official launch later this year.
Usernames will become the default way people see you in WhatsApp when enabled. If you want someone to have your phone number, you can share it whenever you want. WhatsApp
Privacy vs. phone numbers
While phone numbers have long been a universal way to contact others, they're also used as identifiers and are highly linked to our personal data.
In a blog post about the launch, WhatsApp says usernames help make the app a more private way to connect.
"There's no directory to browse and no suggestions -- people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time," the post says. A username will be the default way new contacts see you, whether you're added to a group chat or texting a new person or business.
A representative from WhatsApp confirmed to CNET via email that the feature "protects the privacy of your phone number for new contacts, so you'd have to share it manually if you want them to have it." If you already have that person's number saved in your contact list, nothing changes in the app.
Personally, I'm hoping that username support provides some degree of protection against the occasional nightmare spam group chat that pops up in the app. Moving away from relying on a phone number might give you a bit more control over who can and cannot text you within the app.
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