How has WhatsApp changed privacy? | | Story

The app said it will be releasing usernames gradually, in a move aimed at improving privacy.

A change is coming to the three billion users of the world’s favorite platform, WhatsApp.

A social media app that Meta allows users to identify with username instead of phone numbersit said on Monday. WhatsApp is used in more than 180 countries and 60 languages, the platform says.

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Users will soon be able to save special contacts, with a larger release planned for later this year.

The move is designed to help keep privacy on the platform amid long-running scrutiny of its data protection practices.

So what’s changing, and how can you grab a handle that no one else has?

What changes has WhatsApp announced?

Users will soon be able to swap phone numbers displayed on WhatsApp with usernames, the company said. Under the new system, which will be launched later this year, users will be able to choose to be “accessible” and be connected to their handsets only.

The app said it has already started allowing some users to reserve unique names ahead of the big rollout later this year.

Why is WhatsApp making this change?

The messaging platform said the change was made to improve privacy, which it and its parent company own Trim have been reviewed in the past.

“We’ve made this a top priority for privacy,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters.

According to the company, there will be no public directory of usernames and automatic suggestions, meaning that users will need to know someone’s real name in order to reach them for the first time.

“When someone comes into your life — a classmate, a neighbor, someone you meet at an event — sharing a phone number can feel like a big step,” said a blog post on the WhatsApp company.

That’s because a phone number is personal and is associated with many aspects of your life. Sometimes you just want to chat without giving out your number.”

The company told one user on X that it has added several new features to help users protect themselves from hackers.

Optional login keys – or shortcodes – can be added, which means people can connect to a user if they have their username and password, for example.

WhatsApp also said that it will reduce the number of new users with a single account that it can join as a guard against spam accounts, and that its systems can now detect and block “harassment practices”.

How will the new names work?

Companies, organizations and producers who have existing accounts on Meta’s other social media sites – Instagram and Facebook – will have the opportunity to re-claim their usernames on WhatsApp.

Usernames must have between three and 35 characters. To prevent imitation, WhatsApp blocks the names of famous people or groups, such as celebrities, famous people and government organizations.

To save a specific username, WhatsApp said that the user must download the latest version of WhatsApp, go to the Settings tab, the Account tab, and then the Username page.

The booking must be done with a smartphone – it cannot be done on WhatsApp Web or Desktop.

When will this change begin?

WhatsApp said it will roll out the usernames gradually over the coming months and will notify WhatsApp users when the new one is available in their country. He did not give an exact time.

To be prepared, the company told users to “make sure you download the latest version of WhatsApp and manage your app”.

What are the secrets of WhatsApp?

WhatsApp privacy settings are only for blocking individual users and blocking unknown callers.