WhatsApp usernames are here to reserve, so you can finally stop giving out your phone number
WhatsApp is rolling out usernames, letting its 3 billion users connect without sharing their personal phone number. Reservations just opened. Here’s how to grab yours, how the privacy features work, and the catch worth knowing.
For years, using WhatsApp meant handing over your phone number to anyone you wanted to chat with. That’s finally changing.
WhatsApp is introducing usernames, and you can reserve yours right now, before the full feature launches later this year. Here’s what’s happening, how to claim your handle, and the privacy upgrade (and one catch) behind it.
What’s actually changing
Here’s the core of it, and it’s a genuinely big shift for the app.
Until now, your phone number was your identity on WhatsApp. To message someone, you needed their number, and they got yours. For an app with over 3 billion users, that’s a real privacy gap, your number is tied to your bank, your accounts, your whole life.
The new system lets you set a username instead. Later this year, you’ll be able to choose to be found and contacted by your handle only, so people you message for the first time won’t automatically see your phone number. As WhatsApp put it, “your phone number is personal and sometimes you want to connect without handing it over.”
Why reserve one now?
The feature isn’t fully live yet, so why the rush? Simple: the good names will go fast.
WhatsApp opened reservations early, on June 29, specifically so people can lock in their preferred handle before someone else grabs it. With 3 billion users, desirable usernames are going to vanish in a hurry, the same scramble you’ve seen on every platform.
As WhatsApp’s VP of Product Alice Newton-Rex put it, “I think a lot of people will go and get usernames, and that’s why we decided to open reservations early.” So reserving now is basically calling dibs.
How to reserve your username
Here’s the actual how-to, and it takes about a minute.
Update WhatsApp to the latest version (App Store or Google Play)
Open the app and go to Settings
Tap Account
Tap Username and claim your handle
One important note: you have to do this on your smartphone. It doesn’t work on WhatsApp Web or the desktop app. And don’t panic if you don’t see the option yet, it’s rolling out gradually, so a lot of users won’t have access for a bit. That’s normal, not a glitch.
The rules: usernames must be 3 to 35 characters, lowercase letters, numbers, periods, and underscores only. You can’t start one with “www.” or end it with “.com” or “.net” (to cut down on phishing scams).
The privacy features are actually smart
This is where WhatsApp did something genuinely thoughtful, it built usernames to be private by design, unlike most social platforms.
Two standout features:
No directory, no search. Unlike Instagram or X, there’s no browseable list of usernames and no search suggestions. Someone needs to know your exact username to contact you, they can’t just stumble onto you by browsing. That’s a real anti-stalking, anti-spam design choice.
The optional “username key.” This is the clever one. You can turn on a setting that requires someone to know both your username AND a secret key before they can send you a first message. So even if someone has your username, they still can’t slide into your DMs without that extra code. It’s an opt-in spam shield.
High-profile names (celebrities, public figures, government accounts) are also being held back to prevent impersonators from squatting on them.
The catch worth knowing
Let’s be balanced here, because it’s not all flawless.
First, this is Meta, a company with a, let’s say, complicated privacy reputation. Usernames are a real privacy improvement, but some users will reasonably wonder about handing even more identity data to Meta’s ecosystem. (Businesses and creators can link their WhatsApp handle to their Instagram and Facebook names, which is convenient, but also more Meta-account linking.)
Second, WhatsApp is honestly late to this. Privacy-focused messengers like Signal and Telegram have offered username-based contact for years. So this is Meta catching up to a feature competitors solved long ago, not breaking new ground.
And third, at 3 billion users, username squatting and impersonation will be a real problem. Scammers will rush to grab lookalike handles, which is exactly why reserving your real one early (and turning on that username key) is smart.
The bottom line
Here’s the practical takeaway.
This is a genuinely useful privacy upgrade, finally, a way to use WhatsApp without broadcasting your personal phone number to everyone you talk to. The no-directory design and the optional username key are smart, privacy-first touches that show it wasn’t just bolted on.
It’s optional (if you love the phone-number system, nothing changes), it’s late compared to the competition, and it’s still Meta, so manage your expectations. But if you use WhatsApp, the move right now is simple: update the app, go to Settings > Account > Username, and reserve your handle before the good ones are gone. The full feature lands later this year. For once, a privacy update that actually puts a little control back in your hands, y’know, assuming you trust Meta to hold the other end.
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Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
Hat Tips:
Al Jazeera and NBC (June 2026), verified for the June 29 reservation opening, the later-in-2026 full rollout, the 3-billion-user figure, the Settings > Account > Username path, the smartphone-only requirement, the 3-35 character rule, the high-profile-name holdback, and the Alice Newton-Rex quote
Gulf Business and ExplainX (June 2026), verified for the no-directory/no-search privacy design, the optional username key, the WABetaInfo character rules (lowercase/periods/underscores, no www. or .com/.net), the Instagram/Facebook handle-claiming via Meta Accounts Centre, and the Signal/Telegram-did-it-first context