The Indian government has issued a stern warning to Meta, demanding an immediate pause on the rollout of WhatsApp’s username feature. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent a formal notice on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, citing grave concerns that the feature could be exploited for impersonation, phishing, and the rising menace of digital arrest scams.
In its notice, MeitY gave Meta a three-day ultimatum to provide a detailed explanation of its safety measures. The government explicitly directed the company not to proceed with the feature until consultations are concluded to the government’s satisfaction.
Why the Government Is Concerned
The username feature would allow WhatsApp users to create a unique identifier (e.g., @Name123) and communicate with others without revealing their phone numbers. While Meta pitches this as a privacy enhancement, regulators fear it could become a tool for bad actors.
“It is felt that the feature may materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims,” the ministry stated. The notice also warned that usernames could facilitate identity spoofing of public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies.
Meta’s Response and Safeguards
In response, a WhatsApp spokesperson said, “We’ve announced the option for people to reserve their preferred username on WhatsApp.” The company outlined several layers of protection, including holding high-profile names (public figures, government entities, celebrities) and lookalike derivatives so that only legitimate owners can claim them.
WhatsApp also clarified that a phone number is still required to access the app; usernames are an optional layer. The feature will limit the number of new users an account can message, block repeated username-guessing attempts, and display safety indicators such as whether the sender is a saved contact or from another country.
How the Username Feature Works
To set up a username, users navigate to Settings > Account > Username and reserve a unique @-name. This name can appear in chats, groups, and calls instead of the phone number for contacts who haven’t saved the user’s number. Other users must know the exact username to initiate a conversation.
The government will review Meta’s response and then decide whether to allow the feature to proceed. Usernames were not yet live and were originally slated for rollout later in 2026.