Explained: Why has India asked WhatsApp to pause username rollout?

India has ordered Meta to pause the WhatsApp username feature amid concerns of privacy and security of users. But why? Here is everything you need to know about the new feature, and what it means for you.

In Short

• Officials sought Meta's explanation within three days over possible cybercrime risks
• Usernames would let users chat without sharing mobile numbers with strangers
• Meta says reserved names, warnings and username keys will deter scams

On Wednesday, India ordered Meta not to roll out WhatsApp's proposed username feature in the country until consultations on its privacy and security implications were completed. In a notice sent to the Chief Compliance Officer of Meta’s India Operations, officials asked for a detailed explanation within three days regarding usernames on WhatsApp. This move comes at a time when the feature has sparked debate online on the potential impact it may have on cybersecurity and privacy of users. While some say that this could make it easier for digital scams, others argue that WhatsApp may have enough safeguards to avoid such cases.

But before we understand why the central government has decided to take such a step, we first must look into what usernames actually bring to WhatsApp. You see, until now, if you wanted to talk to someone on WhatsApp, you would need to share your phone number with them. That is, anyone, be it a security guard, a classmate or a new neighbour, would have your phone number if you wanted to connect on WhatsApp. But usernames change this.

For now, you can reserve your username on WhatsApp via the app’s settings page. WhatsApp states, “We’ve announced the option for people to reserve their preferred username on WhatsApp. The ability to use a username is not yet live and will roll out slowly later this year.”

Once this feature rolls out, you will be able to connect with others without having to share your phone number. Instead, a username will do the job, similar to how you can already connect on Telegram, another messaging app, or social media apps like Instagram and Facebook.

Why did India pause WhatsApp usernames?

On the surface, the feature may seem like it will make WhatsApp more private. But government officials have concerns on whether this can be misused. In the notice to Meta, officials have asked the company to explain, within three days, why regulatory action should not be taken against it "for launching a feature that may increase cybercrimes.” But why?

The concerns stem from the way usernames are expected to work. Officials believe that usernames may allow scammers to impersonate popular figures, celebrities, or even government officials. While previously, the phone number of even a scammer would be visible when they attempted to contact you, now you may only see the username. At a time when cybercrime like digital arrests have increased drastically, this may make it easier for bad actors to pull off such scams.

Government officials are not alone when it comes to such fears. When WhatsApp first announced usernames, Indian finfluencer Ankur Warikoo was worried that this could allow scammers to impersonate personalities on the app. “Imagine receiving a message from warikoo / awarikoo / ankurwarikooo / ankur_warikoo / a_warikoo / ankurwarikooofficial etc etc - soliciting money,” he wrote on X.

Jasveer Singh, co-founder of KnotDating, claimed that usernames may bring WhatsApp closer to Telegram, which he says, may make it more prone to scams and frauds. He posted on X, “WhatsApp just launched usernames. My first thought wasn’t privacy - it was scams. The biggest reason I never used Telegram was because anyone could contact you without knowing your phone number. It became a paradise for scammers.”

But is this actually possible?

While concerns over potential misuse are common whenever a new feature is rolled out into an app as large as WhatsApp, Meta has stated that it will bring in safeguards to avoid misuse.

On the topic of impersonation of celebrities or government entities, the Meta-owned platform says that it will reserve select usernames that can only be claimed by legitimate owners. WhatsApp wrote on X, “We’ve held well-known names and some variations of them - like public figures, celebrities, government entities and Meta-verified accounts - so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners. If you try to reserve those, the system will say it’s not available.”

The company also added that whenever a person tries to contact you for the first time with usernames, the app will “let you know the country origin, and a warning.”

This is on top of the optional Username Key feature that will be available for those who use usernames on WhatsApp. When enabled, someone can only contact you with your username if you also give them this unique four-digit code.

The platform also called out posts online where some users claimed to have reserved usernames related to celebrities. WhatsApp added, “People are making false claims about reserving popular or well-known usernames - this isn't true, only the legitimate account owners are able to reserve well-known public-figure names.”

What are experts saying?

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) issued a statement after India ordered Meta to pause the WhatsApp username rollout. The statement read, “The Internet Freedom Foundation is concerned that the notice has no clear basis in law. It is an attempt by the executive to decide what a company may build and ship, which no statute permits.”

The IFF states that India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) “ does not name any provision that lets it approve a product feature before release or order one withdrawn, because there is none, and the provisions it does cite do not supply that power.”

Keep in mind that this would not be the first time if MeitY has tried to block a particular feature of an app. Last month, Telegram’s edit feature was blocked in India for a brief period even after the app’s temporary suspension was lifted after the NEET retest.

The digital rights advocacy group acknowledged that “impersonation and fraud are real risks, but they are met by enforcing the criminal law against those who commit them, and by open processes that rest on identified legal powers.” The IFF compared the order to prohibiting telecom operators from selling SIM cards “because SIM cards are used in almost every online fraud.”

In a conversation with India Today Tech, Vikram Raichura, founder and managing director of cloud communication platform Helo.ai, said that cybersecurity concerns over WhatsApp usernames were “valid and worth watching.” But Vikram says that the company seems to have done the homework to help reduce such risks. He explains, “WhatsApp seems to have introduced usernames with clear constraints to reduce that risk. Officially, the company has said there will be no searchable directory, no username suggestions, and users will need to know the exact username to initiate contact. There is also an optional username key for added control.”

Mukul Kumar, cybersecurity expert and managing partner at Claracon AI, adds that the feature may even help curb certain cybercrimes, including SIM swaps. He tells India Today Tech, “SIM swap fraud is one of the most damaging cybercrimes in India right now. It works by convincing a telecom operator to transfer someone's number to a new SIM, which then intercepts OTPs and gives the attacker access to bank accounts, UPI, everything tied to that number.”

Mukul adds, “The attack depends entirely on the phone number being the master key to someone's digital identity If people start using usernames as their primary WhatsApp identity and sharing their number less freely, over time the phone number becomes a less attractive attack vector.”

At the time of writing, Meta is yet to send a formal reply to the directive received from Indian officials. If the feature is rolled out globally, only time will tell how the username feature is actually used by over 3 million people who use WhatsApp. Though it remains to be seen if India allows the tech giant to bring the feature to India in the first place.

- Ends