Overview

• The username feature, spotted in recent beta builds, will let users connect without revealing their phone numbers on WhatsApp.
• Handles must be 3–30 characters long, include at least one letter, and use only lowercase letters, numbers, periods, and underscores under WhatsApp’s formatting guidelines.
• Changing a username will trigger a system-generated message in active chats to alert contacts about the update.
• A forthcoming update to WhatsApp Web will allow users to check handle availability before registering a username.
• Meta has been finalizing this privacy-focused feature for over two years, and backend code suggests a public rollout within the next few weeks.