WhatsApp is bringing usernames, what does it mean for privacy and cybersecurity?

WhatsApp has announced that it is bringing usernames to the app. But this has sparked debate over how useful and secure usernames could be compared to phone numbers. And will usernames actually be used by people in India?

In Short

• WhatsApp username feature sparks debate
• India is reviewing the feature over cybersecurity concerns
• Experts say usernames may help reduce certain cybercrimes

After years of using phone numbers as the sole way to connect accounts, WhatsApp is bringing usernames. You can now have your own username on the app that will allow others to connect to you. But why did WhatsApp bring this feature years after Telegram introduced and mastered it? The answer may lie in how widely WhatsApp is used in India, and how important our phone numbers really are.

Mukul Kumar, cybersecurity expert and managing partner at Claracon AI, tells India Today Tech, "Your phone number is not just your WhatsApp identity. In India it's linked to your Aadhaar, your bank account, your UPI, your government records.” He adds, “Every time you share it with a stranger, a new contact at a networking event, a seller in a housing society group, a colleague on day one, you're handing over something far more sensitive than most people realise.”

This means that so far, every time you gave your phone number to a security guard or a new classmate, you were giving them a piece of sensitive information in a way. But now, one can simply give the username, and the number stays private. Mukul says, “That’s not a small thing.”

But what does this mean for everyday use? When WhatsApp announced the feature, it said that it would allow you to connect with others with a layer of privacy. Vikram Raichura, founder and managing director of cloud communication platform Helo.ai, concurs. He says that there are plenty of situations where this may come in handy.

Vikram tells India Today Tech, "This feature will be most useful in situations where people want to stay reachable, but do not want to share their phone number too freely.”

He adds, “That includes first-time conversations, temporary group settings, school or parent groups, neighbourhood communities, and similar spaces where people want to participate without exposing their personal contact details more than necessary.”

This can also be useful for people who like to separate their professional and personal lives, something that they previously would have done with two different WhatsApp accounts and phone numbers. “Freelancers, small business owners, anyone who currently uses a separate SIM just to keep their personal number private from clients can now share usernames. That's a real and large category in India,” explains Mukul Kumar.

Cybersecurity fears

There is more to the story though. There has been growing chatter online that usernames may make it easier for fraudsters to pull off scams via the app. This has caught the eye of government officials in India.

According to sources, India is going to examine WhatsApp's upcoming User ID feature before or as it rolls out to users. Officials would reportedly study whether the new feature has enough safeguards to prevent misuse by cybercriminals. If the government identifies any issues during its assessment, Meta could receive a notice seeking an explanation or asking for corrective measures.

Vikram Raichura says, “Whenever a platform makes identity more flexible, there is naturally some increased risk of spam, unwanted messages, impersonation, or misuse. So these concerns are valid and worth watching.”

However, Vikram pointed out that WhatApp has clarified proper safeguards that may mitigate such risks. He adds, “WhatsApp seems to have introduced usernames with clear constraints to reduce that risk. Officially, the company has said there will be no searchable directory, no username suggestions, and users will need to know the exact username to initiate contact. There is also an optional username key for added control.”

Mukul Kumar believes that usernames may help curb cybercrime in India, particularly when it comes to frauds related to SIM swaps. He explains, “SIM swap fraud is one of the most damaging cybercrimes in India right now. It works by convincing a telecom operator to transfer someone's number to a new SIM, which then intercepts OTPs and gives the attacker access to bank accounts, UPI, everything tied to that number.”

Mukul adds, “The attack depends entirely on the phone number being the master key to someone's digital identity. Usernames don't eliminate SIM swap risk, your number still exists and is still vulnerable. But if people start using usernames as their primary WhatsApp identity and sharing their number less freely, over time the phone number becomes a less attractive attack vector.”

But to make this possible, there is one thing that WhatsApp needs – adoptability. A feature is only as good as the number of people who actively use it. Mukul Kumar notes, “The question is whether people will actually use it."

According to Vikram Raichura, we may see people starting to use it in some situations. He says, “I do not know if everybody will adapt to it immediately. It is more likely to be used first in situations where privacy plays a real and unavoidable role. Broader adoption will depend on how visible, simple, and useful the feature feels once it rolls out fully.”

- Ends