Up until now, WhatsApp accounts have only been tied to users’ phone numbers. That’s about to change, as the app prepares to introduce username support. To get ready for the rollout, WhatsApp is setting up a username reservation system. Here’s how it’ll work.
WhatsApp to finally catch up with the competition on usernames
Since its 2009 debut, WhatsApp has only allowed users to sign up and connect with contacts using phone numbers, while competing apps like Telegram have long supported usernames as an alternative.
Back in June, WABetaInfo spotted code in a WhatsApp TestFlight build referencing usernames, and establishing some ground rules as to how that is going to work:
“Usernames cannot begin with ‘www.’ as this could mislead users into thinking they are interacting with an official website entity. Usernames must include at least one letter, which prevents the use of usernames made up only of numbers or symbols. Only certain characters are allowed: lowercase letters (a–z), numbers (0–9), periods, and underscores. This will help maintain a clean and predictable structure across all usernames.”
Now, WABetaInfo has spotted another step toward username support: a new link in Settings that will let users reserve their desired handle ahead of the official release. This way, despite a likely phased rollout of the feature itself, users will get the chance to snag their preferred username (and hopefully avoid impersonators).
That said, Meta has yet to officially confirm the feature, so there’s still no specific ETA for when it will roll out. Even so, the fact that the company is prepping a name-reservation system suggests that it could become available sooner rather than later.
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