WhatsApp usernames return from beta—reserve yours now

WhatsApp username – WhatsApp says username reservations open up this week on the platform, with the feature rolling out later this year. Users will be able to create a new username or port an existing name from Instagram or Facebook—without publishing a public list to search. Wha

The moment WhatsApp decides to show the “Username” tab in your settings, the scramble begins. This week, the app is starting to let people reserve WhatsApp usernames—an in-demand feature that’s been waiting in beta and is set to roll out later this year.

WhatsApp plans to notify users in-app when reservations open. After that. the path is straightforward: open Settings. then Account. and look for the Username tab if the feature has been enabled on your device. From there, users can create a new username or port over an existing name from Instagram or Facebook.

WhatsApp also includes a username generator, but the practical reality is that users will still be choosing under pressure—whether that means going with something familiar, something short, or something they can live with for as long as they want it.

Behind the headline is an even more specific promise: usernames are meant to reduce what strangers learn about you. Alice Newton-Rex, vice president of Product at WhatsApp, frames usernames as a way to keep phone numbers out of view.

“Usernames are designed to give you control over who gets to see your phone number in the first place,” Newton-Rex says. She adds that it’s optional—people choose their own username, can change it or remove it, and it doesn’t have to match the handle or account name used on any other app.

WhatsApp also says there will be no public list of usernames that anyone can search through. That matters. because it changes the dynamic from “find a profile” to “use a username when you’re meant to connect.” In the same vein. the company points to a further privacy layer: users can restrict who can contact them to people who know a unique four-digit key in addition to their username.

Newton-Rex believes that privacy controls like this are already resonating with WhatsApp users, even before the feature is fully out.

“I do think that we’ll see a lot of adoption, but that’s going to be one of the things that we learn as we start rolling it out,” she says.

WhatsApp isn’t treating usernames like a radical departure. Newton-Rex specifically calls out Signal as a reference point. “Signal usernames are probably a good comparison,” she says. WhatsApp’s plan is similar in function—users connect without sharing phone numbers.

Signal rolled out usernames on its platform in 2024, and the competition is clearly searching for different ways to let messaging apps connect people while limiting exposure. Germ DM, for instance, lets users create “burner cards” so people can connect with multiple groups in different ways.

For WhatsApp users. the timing is the key emotion here: reservations open this week. notifications will arrive inside the app. and the Username tab will appear only when the feature is enabled. Then comes the part that always feels familiar. even when privacy is the selling point—choosing a name before everyone else notices the same opportunity.

WhatsApp usernames username reservations WhatsApp beta privacy phone number protection Alice Newton-Rex Instagram Facebook Signal usernames four-digit key