AppWizard
July 10, 2026
Meta-owned WhatsApp has responded to the Indian government's notice concerning its proposed "username" feature, which aims to allow users to communicate without sharing phone numbers. The Indian government expressed concerns about potential risks such as online fraud and impersonation. WhatsApp requested more time to address these issues and confirmed that the feature will not launch in India until discussions are complete. The Ministry of Information Technology is currently reviewing WhatsApp's submission. Other messaging platforms, including Telegram and Signal, have also received similar notices. WhatsApp plans to implement measures to mitigate impersonation risks, such as allowing only legitimate owners to claim high-profile names and requiring users to know exact usernames to initiate contact. The platform will limit the number of new contacts an account can reach and provide information about the sender's account status when a user receives a message via a username.