Chat app WhatsApp is testing unique usernames. This could give users more privacy, as they no longer have to share their phone numbers.
WhatsApp is the chat service par excellence, not only for sending messages to people but also to organizations. The only drawback is that you always have to share your phone number – you don't want to share it with everyone. Now it seems that WhatsApp has come up with something for that: usernames. Exactly, as you know from social media.
WhatsApp has recently started testing usernames, but is still waiting for an exact launch date. Who wouldn’t want to be the first to claim their first name as their WhatsApp name?
Names instead of numbers
As shown in the screenshot below taken from WABetaInfo, your username will be displayed instead of your phone number. Other users can then contact you if they have your unique username.
However, the question is whether your phone number is still relevant after that. Up until now, your phone number has served as a form of authentication. For example, you can only use WhatsApp on the web or desktop by connecting it via your phone. While there’s currently no suggestion that this will change anytime soon, the username could be a first step in making this work differently.
Step by Step
Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, hasn’t changed much since it acquired the app in 2014, and it hasn’t made much money from it. Perhaps because the company knows that major changes to WhatsApp could turn users off en masse. However, Meta has implemented a number of small, somewhat social media-like changes in recent years, such as a communities section, WhatsApp channels, and status updates.
With the arrival of usernames, WhatsApp is starting to look more like a social network. This feature could be part of a long-term strategy to further tie WhatsApp into other popular Meta services, like Threads or Instagram.
New source of income?
Meta has received a lot of criticism in the European Union recently for its proposal to train its AI models using user data. Many privacy regulators were not happy with this and Meta later withdrew the plans. Last week, the company announced that it would not launch advanced AI functions in the EU, citing a lack of clarity on the rules surrounding AI.
There may not be a direct connection to WhatsApp usernames, but one thing is clear: Now that Meta has little to gain from the Metaverse in the coming years despite its massive investments, it will have to tap into other revenue streams. Bringing WhatsApp into the picture wouldn’t be an illogical strategy: the app has over 2 billion users worldwide.
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