WhatsApp is introducing usernames: here’s how to save yours

WhatsApp is introducing a new way to add and chat with your friends, without sharing your phone number. The usernames will start “later this year,” aiming to keep the communication process “highly private,” allowing you to keep your phone number hidden from strangers.

The usernames are up for grabs starting this week, giving you time to pick up another handle you might be using elsewhere before the WhatsApp username goes live. The rollout of the username will be phased in over the coming months, and users will be notified when the feature is available in their country.

“With more than three billion people on WhatsApp there are a lot of usernames, which is why we’re opening up storage early so everyone has the chance to choose a username that’s relevant to them,” WhatsApp said in its announcement.

You can save your username by going to Settings > Account > Username in the latest version of WhatsApp. Individuals and organizations will have the opportunity to copy their Instagram or Facebook content to help prevent WhatsApp impersonators. Likewise, WhatsApp group manager Alice Newton-Rex said Seaside that the names of famous people such as celebrities and politicians are already protected from being mentioned – so if you share a name with famous people, you need to create another handle.

You can’t browse users using their usernames, so you need to know exactly username before contacting them. If you have already shared your phone number with your contacts on WhatsApp or group chats, the number will still be visible to them after unlocking the username, so this privacy protection only applies to new conversations in progress.

WhatsApp is also introducing an “optional password” that others will need to know before sending you a message, helping you control who can contact you with your WhatsApp username if it’s known without your permission.