Government Reviews WhatsApp’s Reply Over Proposed Username Feature

WhatsApp has now issued a formal response to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) urgent notice on the proposed “username” feature on the platform. Before deciding whether the feature will ever be introduced in India, the Centre is assessing Meta’s explanation to see if the security measures it has in place are enough to protect normal users.

The fight concerns a major balancing act in the way we use messaging apps: giving up some transparency in return for an additional layer of personal privacy.

What is the username feature?

You have to give away your phone number to be able to chat with anyone on WhatsApp. This is totally changed with the proposed feature changes, with the introduction of custom usernames that start with the "@" symbol, like you can see on Instagram or Telegram.

You could distribute a unique handle (like @YourName) to purchase a second-hand item, speak with a business or be part of a huge community group without revealing your real personal contact number to a stranger.

Why the Indian Government Pressed the Pause Button

Hiding phone numbers sounds good for individual privacy, but cybersecurity officials quickly saw a big hole for bad actors. The IT ministry is very concerned that people hiding behind usernames will lead to a big surge in identity theft and digital fraud.

Officials have pinpointed a handful of core dangers:

Rise of “Digital Arrest” Scams: Scammers often pose as police officers, CBI officials or tax authorities to extort lakhs of rupees from the citizens. The government is worried usernames will make it far too easy for fraudsters to create lookalike official accounts (e.g., @DelhiPolice_Official) to make their scams look legitimate.

Anonymity for phishing and spam: If a scammer does not need to buy and register a traceable SIM card to send a message to a victim, it becomes much easier to carry out automated phishing attacks and large-scale spam campaigns.

The Traceability Problem: Cybercriminals are heavily tracked by law enforcement agencies through phone numbers That first line of contact being behind a disposable username is a huge roadblock for police investigations.

So, the government has given stern orders to Meta to hold off from rolling out in India until the ministry is fully satisfied with the platform’s anti-fraud safeguards.

How Meta will keep users safe

In its defensive response to the ministry, Meta explained that the feature is not a free-for-all and has a multi-layered safety net built into the backend:

WhatsApp has taken a proactive step to block instant identity theft by locking down all high-profile usernames. This means standard accounts can’t take handles that belong to government entities, politicians, celebrities and verified brands.

The Exact Search System: Strangers can't simply search a directory and look at random names. To start a chat you must know the person’s unique and exact username, letter by letter.

Automated Abuse Detection: WhatsApp is deploying automated systems that can identify lookalike names, restrict the number of new people a new account can message in a day, and prevent repeated attempts to guess usernames.

First-time contact: If you receive a message from a contact that’s new to you (using your username), WhatsApp will show a warning banner providing important context about the account (whether it is brand new, an existing contact, or based in another country).

Now the ball is in the court of the IT ministry. Interestingly, WhatsApp isn’t the only platform on the hit list. The government has also sent similar compliance notices to Telegram and Signal, seeking to scrutinise how their existing username features protect Indian citizens from financial fraud.

So, until the government gives its official nod, WhatsApp’s 50 crore Indian users will have to stick to sharing their phone numbers as the feature remains strictly locked down.