Overview
- WhatsApp opened a gradual, worldwide reservation window, which began Monday, June 29, so users can claim unique @usernames now from Settings > Account > Username.
- Reserved usernames will hide your phone number on first contact while the phone number remains mandatory as the account’s primary identifier.
- To reduce impersonation and name hoarding, WhatsApp has pre-reserved high-value names for public figures and organizations and lets creators and businesses claim the same handle they use on Instagram or Facebook via Meta account linking.
- The app offers an optional four-digit contact PIN that requires both the exact username and the PIN to start a first-time chat, and WhatsApp says there will be no public directory or web index of usernames.
- Full use of usernames to initiate chats will roll out in phases later this year with in-app notifications, a change that echoes features on competitors like Telegram and Signal and could affect how 3 billion users share contact details.