WhatsApp to let people chat without swapping phone numbers
10 hours ago
- #Social Media
- #Messaging Apps
- #Privacy
- WhatsApp introduces username-based chatting, allowing users to connect without sharing phone numbers.
- Usernames (up to 35 characters) can be reserved starting Monday and changed or removed anytime.
- The feature, rolling out globally over months, includes blocking/reporting options but no public username directory.
- WhatsApp describes it as a privacy feature, responding to user concerns about phone number sharing.
- Critics note WhatsApp still collects metadata for advertising, despite end-to-end encryption protecting message content.
- Phone numbers remain required for account creation but will become invisible once the feature is fully active.
- The platform's minimum age is 13, and messaging apps are excluded from the UK's upcoming under-16 social media ban.
- Kunal Shah will replace Will Cathcart as head of WhatsApp, with the change announced recently.