Overview
- WhatsApp opened a global reservation period on Monday, June 29, letting users claim unique usernames now before the full feature rolls out later this year.
- When the feature launches, people will be able to choose to be found and contacted only by their username instead of by their phone number.
- WhatsApp will not publish a searchable directory and it offers an optional numeric access key that users must give others to allow first contacts.
- Meta will let businesses, creators and organisations port verified Facebook or Instagram names to WhatsApp and will hold high-profile or look-alike names to curb impersonation.
- The change follows long-standing privacy concerns about phone-number based discovery and could reduce number exposure while creating a rush for scarce handles and new trade-offs in how people accept first contact.