The Meta-owned app is ending a 17-year rule, giving more than 3 billion users the option to be contacted by handle — not digits.
WhatsApp announced Monday that users will soon be able to go by a unique username instead of sharing their phone number — the most significant change to how people are identified on the platform since it launched in 2009.
The Meta-owned app, which has more than 3 billion users worldwide, said the feature is optional and will roll out country by country over the coming months. Reservations are already open. Users can go to Settings > Account > Username in the latest version of the app to claim a handle before the feature goes live.
“When someone new walks into your life, sharing a phone number can feel like a big step. Sometimes you just want to chat without handing over your digits.” — WhatsApp
Under the new system, anyone who knows a user’s exact username can start a conversation without ever seeing their phone number. WhatsApp says there will be no public directory, no name suggestions — contact requires knowing the handle precisely.
Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s Vice President of Product, described it as “a core privacy feature.” An additional optional username key will allow users to require new contacts to know both the handle and a second code before messaging them.
Usernames must be between three and 35 characters, contain at least one letter, and use only lowercase letters, numbers, periods, or underscores. Handles claimed on Facebook or Instagram cannot be reused on WhatsApp — Meta will tie the identity across all its platforms.
To prevent abuse, WhatsApp will reserve usernames for celebrities, public figures, and government entities before the general rollout. Companies and creators with existing Meta accounts will get early access to claim their brand names.
The first country wave goes live on July 7 in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Ghana, Libya, and Nepal. A second wave follows on July 20, with global access expected from September 2026. Existing conversations and contacts are unaffected — the change applies only to first-time connections made through a username.
Phone numbers remain required to register a WhatsApp account and are not going away. The update simply means users no longer have to share them to be reachable
