June 18, Kathmandu – The Indian government issued a notice to WhatsApp, owned by Meta, on Wednesday instructing the company to refrain from launching the proposed ‘username’ feature until the government completes its review. The government has also requested a detailed explanation of the feature, along with relevant documents, within three days. This new feature, which would allow conversations without sharing phone numbers, has raised concerns about potential risks including fake IDs, spoofing, phishing, and financial fraud, prompting the government’s intervention.
According to government sources cited by Indian media, the authorities are closely monitoring WhatsApp’s plans and studying the legal implications of the feature. If found to pose serious risks, officials are exploring legal options to ban or suspend the rollout. The notice sent to WhatsApp India’s Head of Compliance highlighted government anxiety over the possibility of increased online fraud, phishing, ‘digital arrest’ scams, and misuse of fake accounts linked to this feature.
WhatsApp has defended the proposed functionality, stating that it has built multi-layered security measures to prevent abuse. A company spokesperson noted that the username feature is still under development and will be gradually rolled out by the end of this year. Meta emphasized that phone numbers will still be mandatory for WhatsApp usage, and others will need to know a user’s exact username to send messages.
WhatsApp asserts that the feature aims to enhance user privacy by enabling users to avoid sharing their phone numbers in group chats and new conversations. However, the proposal has sparked widespread concern. Cybersecurity experts warn that shifting from phone number–based identification to platform-managed usernames could weaken accountability, potentially leading to an uptick in scams.
