Overview
- WhatsApp opened username reservations on June 29, and Meta has told officials it will not introduce the feature in India until the government finishes reviewing the company’s written reply.
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has received responses from WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal and is examining those replies before announcing its stance, Information Technology Secretary S. Krishnan said.
- Independent tests and researchers reported that handles resembling public figures, banks and government bodies were claimable during early reservations, a finding the government cites as evidence of impersonation and phishing risk.
- Some platforms have preemptively changed behavior while the review continues, for example Zoho disabled usernames on its Arattai app, and regulators are debating a common standard that would apply across messaging services.
- Legal experts and rights groups warn the dispute could set a global precedent by shaping product design through domestic rulemaking, and the decision will affect users’ ability to hide phone numbers, investigators’ ability to trace fraud, and how companies balance privacy safeguards with law enforcement needs.