WhatsApp usernames: Will they make India's digital conversations safer or less trustworthy? Experts weigh in

Zoho-led messaging platform Arattai announced on 3 July that it will remove the username-based account feature, following regulatory hurdles faced by WhatsApp and other messaging platforms.

The announcement comes soon after the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Meta not to proceed with the rollout of the username feature on its messaging app WhatsApp over potential impersonation and cyberfraud issues, people aware of the matter said.

In its new feature announcement earlier this week, WhatsApp said its users would now be able to reserve their usernames and connect without sharing their phone numbers. The proposed feature has not yet been rolled out globally. So far, users have only received notifications asking them to reserve their usernames.

WhatsApp is not the first to roll out such an option for its users. Telegram and Signal have allowed users to hide their phone numbers and use only a username for a very long time. In fact, after the WhatsApp concerns, the government also sought explanations from Signal and Telegram on how they are addressing risks of fraud, impersonation, and misuse associated with usernames that enable users to connect without sharing phone numbers.

Evolving Digital Platforms

As digital platforms evolve, the way people identify themselves online is clearly changing too. WhatsApp's move towards usernames is more than a feature update. It marks the next phase of digital identity, prompting a broader conversation on how Indians will communicate, build connections, and navigate an increasingly privacy-conscious digital ecosystem.

Experts said that rather than changing how people connect, the evolution may reshape how they choose to present themselves, manage interactions, and build trusted digital relationships across personal and professional networks.

“For years, exchanging numbers was how people connected with one another on WhatsApp. As WhatsApp became the default channel for quick communication, users began sharing their location and details with strangers at the door, from a courier to a service visitor, and their mobile number was handed over along with it. Being in a large group carried the same quiet cost, since a person's number stayed visible to everyone in the group,” Prof Sajith Narayanan, Director, Centre of Digital Advancement, Flame University told LiveMint

Username-based identity will change this dynamic, Prof Narayanan argues.
“An Indian user will gain real privacy, which can feel freeing among strangers and in crowded groups. However, the moment that user becomes the receiver, the privacy advantage comes with a trade-off. A username from an unknown sender offers little insight into who is actually behind the message, making trust more difficult to establish,” he says.

Can open a Pandora's box too?

Some experts have warned that the username feature can open a Pandora's box too. Renowened cyber law expert Pawan Duggal flagged privacy violation concerns if WhatsApp fails to strictly comply with India's stringent new data protection regime.

Duggal said that WhatsApp must ensure that its username feature is compliant with the Information Technology Act 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and the DPDP Rules 2025.

“The concern of the government is very clear: it does not want Indians to be made guinea pigs in the laboratories of big tech companies. The Supreme Court in the case of Justice Puttaswamy has categorically held that your fundamental right to privacy is an integral part of the fundamental right to life,” Duggal told news agency ANI.

"Now, once this kind of a feature is going to be used as username, this could open up a Pandora's box: it could potentially impact people's privacies; this username ultimately is nothing but a manifestation of personal data of data principles, hence WhatsApp has to make sure that its username offerings has to be compliant with not just the Information Technology Act 2000 but also with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and the DPDP Rules 2025," he said.

WhatsApp grew because of phone number

Narayanan, however, argues that the greatest advantage could however be to larger businesses, creators, and brands. “A username lets a business become searchable and memorable inside the app, turning its identity into something closer to a brand that people can find and follow. It also gives professionals a public identity that they can share widely without exposing a personal number,” he says.

A phone number was never only a way to reach a shop but it was the customer's proof that a real shop actually exists, experts said.

“The phone number was not a minor detail in WhatsApp's rise. It was arguably the reason the platform grew so quickly, since using a person's existing contacts turned the address book into a ready-made network and removed almost all the effort of getting started. Whatsapp took away texts and sms. If usernames are presented simply as a fresh feature now, the more interesting truth slips away, which is that the very design that once powered WhatsApp's growth is now the thing that is being taken away,” he said.