TL;DR
WhatsApp is letting users reserve usernames starting today, so people can connect without sharing their phone number for the first time.
WhatsApp is opening username reservations starting today, allowing its more than three billion users to connect with people without sharing their phone number for the first time. The feature, which has been in development for several years, will officially roll out later this year. A phone number is still required to create an account, but once a username is set, new contacts will no longer need to see it.
Users can choose any username between three and 35 characters, as long as it does not violate the company’s policies. WhatsApp said it is reserving usernames for top celebrities, VIPs, and organisations ahead of the general rollout. Businesses and creators who want to maintain consistency across Meta’s platforms can claim their existing Facebook or Instagram username as their WhatsApp handle.
“When you meet someone new, whether it’s a classmate, a neighbour, or someone you met at an event, sharing your phone number can feel like a big step,” Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President and Head of Product at WhatsApp, said in a briefing. “Usernames are designed to give you control of who gets to see your phone number in the first place.” The feature closes a privacy gap that rival messaging apps addressed years ago.
Telegram introduced usernames in 2014, Signal began testing them in 2023, and Wire has offered them since 2016. WhatsApp’s delay meant that the world’s largest messaging platform was also the most significant holdout on a basic privacy feature. The company said the reservation process exists because of scale: with more than three billion users, significant username overlap is inevitable without an early claim period.
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Usernames will not be searchable on the app, and only people who know a user’s exact handle will be able to initiate contact. WhatsApp is also introducing an optional “username key,” a secondary credential that someone must know in addition to the username before they can send a message. Users can turn the feature off or change their username at any time.
The rollout is the first major product move under WhatsApp’s new leadership, with Kunal Shah, the CRED founder who replaced Will Cathcart last week, now overseeing the platform’s direction. It also arrives as Meta builds paid tiers across its apps, with WhatsApp Plus testing cosmetic subscriptions and Instagram Plus already live in three markets.
For now, there is no option to scan a QR code to connect with someone using only their username, meaning the handle must be shared verbally or by text. Users will receive a notification when the reservation option becomes available in their country and can set their username through Settings, then Account, then Username. WhatsApp’s platform is evolving rapidly under regulatory and competitive pressure, and usernames are the kind of foundational privacy feature that should have shipped years ago, but that three billion users will notice the moment it arrives.
