When someone new walks into your life – a classmate, a neighbor, someone you meet at an event – sharing a phone number can feel like a big step.
That’s because a phone number is personal and it’s tied to so many parts of your life. Sometimes you want to chat without handing over your digits.
This is also true for group conversations. You want to join the parent chat for the soccer team, but you’re not ready to give your phone number to people you’ve never met.
That’s why Meta is introducing usernames for WhatsApp. Starting this week, you can reserve a username to use later this year, when the feature launches. With over three billion people on WhatsApp, a lot of names overlap, which is why we’re opening reservations early so everyone has the opportunity to select the username that matters to them.
For most people, choosing a WhatsApp username should be something unique that only people you want to contact you will know. If you need help picking one, WhatsApp has a username generator to make one work just for you.
The Meta-owned company also know that some people, like creators, small businesses, and organizations may want to maintain a consistent presence online. For them, WhatsApp has reserved an option to claim their existing Instagram or Facebook username.
Usernames are WhatsApp’s latest step to make the platform even more private. There’s no directory to browse and no suggestions – people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time.
To help control who can reach you on WhatsApp with your username, the platform has built an optional username key that others will need to know to message you.
Once WhatsApp launches usernames, when you message a person or business for the first time, they will no longer see your phone number if you have enabled your username.
Reserving your optional username takes just a few seconds on the latest version of WhatsApp – go to Settings > Account > Username.
How it works:
- Usernames reservations will begin rolling out on Monday, June 29, allowing people to create and reserve a username before the feature is available in-app later this year. Once reservations become available, users will be notified in the app.
- For most people, choosing a WhatsApp username should be something unique that only people you want to contact you will know.
- You can also set up a username key for an extra layer of protection. Someone will need it the first time they contact you, adding one more layer of protection for your account.
The platform will be rolling out usernames gradually over the coming months and will notify you on WhatsApp when they’re available in your country.
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