The Centre has directed Meta to halt the rollout of its upcoming WhatsApp username feature in India until government consultations are complete, issuing a formal notice demanding a detailed explanation within three days. Meta responded on 1 July, outlining multiple safeguards it has built into the feature to counter impersonation risks.

What the Government Directed

According to sources, the Centre sought a comprehensive account of how the username feature works and what protections are in place against misuse. Officials indicated that messaging platforms could be held accountable if new features create avenues for fraud or misinformation. The government has asked Meta not to activate the feature for Indian users until the consultation process is concluded.

What WhatsApp Said

A WhatsApp spokesperson confirmed that the feature — which allows users to reserve a preferred username — is not yet live and 'will roll out slowly later this year.' On impersonation concerns, the spokesperson said: 'We've held the highest-profile names — think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts — so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well.'

The company added that phone numbers will remain mandatory to use WhatsApp, and that the username layer is an optional privacy tool, not a replacement for existing identity verification. 'Other users need to know the exact username to message you, we will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone's username key, and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns,' the spokesperson said.

Built-In Safety Layers

WhatsApp outlined a set of contextual signals that will appear when a user is contacted via username for the first time. The platform says it will disclose whether the sender is a new account, an existing contact, shares common groups with the recipient, or is based in a different country — giving users enough context to decide whether to respond.

The company framed the feature as a privacy enhancement, enabling interactions without the need to share phone numbers. However, cyber-security experts have flagged residual risks, particularly around sophisticated impersonation attempts and the potential for scam networks to exploit the username discovery mechanism.

Broader Context and What Is at Stake

India is WhatsApp's largest market by user base, making the government's position on any new feature consequential for global rollout timelines. The Centre's intervention follows a broader regulatory pattern of scrutinising platform features before they go live — a posture that has intensified since the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 came into force.

Notably, this is not the first time Indian authorities have sought pre-launch consultations with Meta over product changes. The outcome of the current dialogue is expected to shape how other messaging platforms approach feature disclosures to Indian regulators going forward.