WhatsApp username feature has defenses against scams — Meta says it has ‘systems to detect and remove...’

Meta on Wednesday said it’ll allow high-profile names to be claimed only by legitimate owners as part of its effort to counter impersonation on WhatsApp’s new username feature.

WhatsApp began allowing customers to reserve a unique username this week, with plans for them to become operational later this year.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told LiveMint that they have announced the option for people to reserve their preferred username on WhatsApp. “The ability to use a username is not yet live and will roll out slowly later this year.”

However, to protect against impersonation, the spokesperson said, WhatsApp “held the highest-profile names — think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts — so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well.”

The spokesperson also said that users will still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and claimed that Meta has “built multiple layers of defense against scams” into WhatsApp’s username feature.

“Other users need to know the exact username to message you, we will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone’s username key, and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns,” WhatsApp said.

Once the feature becomes available and someone sends the user a message for the first time via username, Meta said, “We will show you if they're a new account, if they’re your contact, if you have groups in common, and if they’re based in a different country, so you can decide whether to respond.”

The new feature came under the scrutiny of the Centre, which is expected to ask WhatsApp to explain the feature and its implications, PTI reported, citing anonymous sources.

India is WhatsApp’s largest market with more than 600 million users, and any serious government pushback can limit its ability to roll out the new username feature globally.

Govt directs Meta to stall rollout of WhatsApp usernames

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed Meta not to proceed with the rollout of the username feature on its messaging app WhatsApp due to potential impersonation and cyber fraud issues, people aware of the matter told Mint.

“The government has asked Meta to furnish a detailed explanation on the username feature within three days,” a person familiar with the matter told Mint, adding that the company has also been directed not to roll out the feature until consultations on the matter conclude.

The directive to Meta comes amid government concerns that the WhatsApp feature could be misused to create deceptive identities, increasing the risk of fraud and other threats to public safety.

Some technology experts also warned that bad actors could exploit similar-looking usernames to impersonate users and carry out scams.