The WhatsApp app icon is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken Oct. 27, 2025. (Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
The messaging app WhatsApp will soon allow users to message each other by sharing usernames instead of phone numbers, the company announced Monday.
With the upcoming update, phone numbers will no longer be automatically visible when users are added to group chats or send a first message to another person or a business, WhatsApp said in a statement. According to the company, owned by Meta alongside Facebook and Instagram, the feature is designed to enhance privacy.
"This feature has been in the pipeline for three or four years," said Hady Khoury, an independent cybersecurity expert.
The update will be rolled out gradually to WhatsApp's roughly 3 billion users, likely by country or region. The process could take several months, and the company has yet to disclose all implementation details.
What's changing?
Once the feature becomes available, users will no longer be identified solely by their phone number and the name saved in another person's contacts. Instead, they will choose a unique username.
In practice, users who are not already in someone's contacts will no longer automatically see that person's phone number in WhatsApp groups.
How does it work?
Users will continue to register and access WhatsApp with a phone number, but they will also be able to create a username that others can use to find and contact them. It remains unclear whether phone numbers will continue to appear elsewhere in account settings.
The option to reserve a username will appear in the account or profile settings once the feature is enabled. Users who want the same username across WhatsApp and other Meta services will be able to link their accounts through Meta's Accounts Center once that integration becomes available on WhatsApp.
The feature will initially be available only through the mobile app, not on WhatsApp Web or the desktop application.
Can users choose any username?
In principle, yes. However, WhatsApp has not yet said whether it will impose restrictions to block offensive, racist, or vulgar usernames. Some usernames that have already been claimed in regions where the feature is available may also be unavailable elsewhere.
A transition period
During the rollout, some users will continue using the traditional phone number-based system while others will already have usernames. As a result, some profiles may display phone numbers while others display only usernames.
Why the change?
WhatsApp has not detailed the reasons behind the update. Khoury believes it is partly intended to help Meta comply with regulatory requirements, particularly those aimed at strengthening online privacy protections for minors, including the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) and U.S. children's online privacy rules under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Those regulations have already prompted Meta to strengthen parental supervision features on Facebook and Instagram through its Family Center. Comparable privacy measures had not previously been introduced on WhatsApp.
Khoury also sees the move as part of Meta's broader effort to unify user identities across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta said in its announcement that creators, small businesses and organizations will be able to request the same username across the company's platforms.
Khoury said the update should improve privacy, though it will not eliminate all security risks. "The app is still tied to a phone number, and no security system is completely invulnerable," he said. "That said, it will make accessing users' phone numbers much more difficult."
For example, if a WhatsApp account is compromised, the attacker would no longer automatically be able to view the phone numbers of members in the victim's groups or contacts.
However, greater integration with Meta's Accounts Center also means some WhatsApp user data may be shared across the company's services, including Threads and Messenger.
