WhatsApp Username Plan Under Govt Lens Over Impersonation Risks

The directive comes amid concerns within the government over the feature's potential implications, including risks of impersonation, fraud and its impact on law enforcement investigations. "The government may look into the legal mechanisms to possibly block the feature. If the feature is found at risk-prone, it may send legal notice to Meta," a source privy to development said.

Issuing the notice to Meta, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said that WhatsApp’s planned usernames 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.

"Furthermore, this feature may facilitate impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies, by permitting the adoption of usernames closely resembling those of genuine persons or institutions,” the notice said.

The Meta-owned messaging platform announced the introduction of usernames, a feature that will allow users to communicate without sharing their phone numbers. The company has opened early reservations for usernames, which will be officially rolled out later this year.

WhatsApp, however, claimed that the username feature is very useful, especially when you’re communicating with new people, large groups, and businesses, as it provides an added layer of security without compromising on the ease of contacting other individuals. However, the authorities believe that scammers can exploit it by creating similar usernames to those of other persons or organisations.

After realising the concern over the whatsapp's move, the government is thoroughly looking into the feature's privacy, security and user-safety implications amid concerns that it could potentially be misused for online fraud. Officials are expected to assess whether the username-based system has adequate safeguards to prevent misuse by cybercriminals and whether it could create challenges in identifying fraudulent accounts.

The sources, however, said that the government has also asked Meta to explain how the feature will function, what security measures will be built into the system and how potential misuse will be prevented. "The company has also been told not to roll out the feature in India until the ongoing consultations and review process are completed," the sources said.

As per the source, the feature may allow users to adopt usernames resembling those of bonafide agencies and other entities, potentially enabling impersonation and fraud and it could have adverse implications for public safety and society. “The government will not compromise on national security or public safety,” the source said.

Recently, WhatsApp rolled out a new feature called ‘Username‘, which will help in improving a user’s privacy. The feature is said to break the anomaly of WhatsApp, where users had to provide their phone numbers to connect with other individuals over the messaging app. While it is an optional feature, it marks a big shift for the Meta-owned messaging app, which has relied solely on phone numbers until now.

As per the reports, the feature has been years in the making with Meta first disclosing plans to add username support in October 2024. In November last year, the company told developers and businesses that the rollout was slated for June 2026.