WhatsApp Usernames Arrive for 3 Billion Users: A Privacy Fix With Limits

WhatsApp has started letting more than three billion users reserve unique usernames starting Monday, June 29, as an early step toward enabling messaging without exposing a phone number to new contacts. The Meta-owned service opened reservations months ahead of a wider rollout later this year to reduce the chance that desirable handles disappear. On the latest app version, users can choose a username between three and 35 characters under Settings > Account > Username, and it becomes their primary identifier for people who do not already have their number saved. The reservation feature currently works only from smartphones, not WhatsApp Web or Desktop. WhatsApp says there is no searchable directory of usernames and no public suggestions; people must know the exact handle to initiate contact. Users can optionally set a four-digit “username key” that a new contact must enter before a first message or call, and phone numbers remain required to create accounts, though they won’t be visible to unconnected users. The rollout also follows Meta’s June 22 appointment of Kunal Shah as WhatsApp’s new global head.