WhatsApp will allow its three billion users worldwide to connect through unique usernames instead of phone numbers, the Meta-owned platform announced on Monday, June 29, 2026.
Users can now reserve a username on the app ahead of a fuller rollout expected over the coming months. People will be able to choose to be contacted only by their handle and not their number.
The change matters for Nigerians who rely on WhatsApp daily for business, family communication, and customer service, since it removes the need to share a phone number with strangers or new contacts.
How it works
Usernames must be between three and 35 characters. There is no public directory and no autocomplete suggestion, so a person will need to know someone’s exact username before they can message them for the first time.
Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, said the company built the feature with privacy as the priority.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” she told reporters. “People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time.”
Existing safety tools, including blocking and reporting unwanted contacts, remain available alongside the new system.
Why WhatsApp made the change
Newton-Rex said feedback from users showed many did not want to share their phone numbers just to stay in touch with others, particularly in group chats. WhatsApp described usernames as a way to give people more say over how they appear on the app.
Businesses and creators who already have accounts on Instagram or Facebook, both owned by Meta, will get the opportunity to claim matching usernames on WhatsApp.
To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will withhold usernames linked to high-profile figures, including celebrities, public officials, and government bodies.
Signal, a rival encrypted messaging app, introduced a similar username system in 2024.
Some privacy experts caution that the feature does not change WhatsApp’s wider data practices. Carisa Veliz, a privacy researcher at Oxford University and author of Privacy is Power, said the update is useful but limited.
“It is a good feature, but even if it does offer more privacy, remember WhatsApp is not a privacy-friendly app overall,” Veliz said. “It collects much metadata about users for marketing purposes.”
WhatsApp does not read the content of private messages, which remain protected by end-to-end encryption. However, the company does use data such as who a user messages and when to support advertising.
What stays the same
A phone number will still be required to create a WhatsApp account. The minimum age to use the app remains 13.
The username change comes as WhatsApp undergoes a leadership change. Kunal Shah, founder of an Indian fintech start-up, is taking over as head of the platform, replacing Will Cathcart, who is stepping down after seven years in the role.
