WhatsApp ‘Username’ Feature: Meta Submits Response To Government's Notice

WhatsApp's plan to launch usernames in India has moved to the next step. The government is now looking at the company's official reply to a notice that had raised safety concerns about the feature.

WhatsApp sent its reply to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Thursday, meeting the deadline given to it. Officials are now carefully going through the response before deciding if the feature can be allowed in India. WhatsApp has not said anything publicly about what the reply says.

This comes after the government earlier asked WhatsApp not to launch usernames until talks with authorities were finished. Officials worried that adding usernames alongside phone numbers could give scammers new ways to pretend to be someone else, run phishing scams, and carry out so-called "digital arrest" frauds, where criminals pose as police or government officers to scare people into paying money.

Why the government sent the notice

The government first raised concerns after WhatsApp announced usernames earlier this month. It sent a notice asking the company to explain why action should not be taken under the Information Technology Act and the rules for digital platforms. The government's worry was that the feature, if launched without enough safety checks, could make it easier for cybercriminals to pretend to be real people or organisations. As a large platform under Indian law, WhatsApp is required to follow rules meant to protect users from online harm.

After getting the notice, WhatsApp asked for more time to prepare its answer. It also told the government usernames would not go live in India until discussions with officials were over. Meta representatives had also met IT Ministry officials in person after being called in over the planned launch, before sending the written reply this week.

Speaking at the CII GCC Business Summit on Thursday, IT Secretary S Krishnan said WhatsApp's reply was expected that same day. He also said similar notices had been sent to Telegram and Signal about their own username features, but neither platform had replied yet. He added that the ministry would look at the bigger picture once those replies come in too.

The safety steps WhatsApp has promised

WhatsApp has not yet launched usernames anywhere in India, but the company has already listed several steps it says will help reduce misuse once the feature does go live. It has repeated that a phone number will still be needed to sign up and use the app, and that usernames will be rolled out slowly later this year rather than all at once.

To stop impersonation, WhatsApp says it has reserved usernames linked to public figures, government bodies, celebrities and verified Meta accounts, so only the real owners can claim them. It has also blocked similar-looking fake versions of these names. The company says knowing someone's display name will not be enough to message them for the first time, a person will need to know the exact username.

On top of that, there will be limits on how many new people someone can message, blocks on repeated attempts to guess usernames, and automatic systems to spot suspicious behaviour. WhatsApp also plans to show users extra details before they reply to a new username, such as whether the sender is already a saved contact, shares a group with them, has a newly made account, or seems to be messaging from another country.

These safety steps are expected to be a key part of what the government checks going forward. The outcome matters a great deal because India is WhatsApp's biggest market, with around 500 million users.

Inputs from PTI