Indian govt asks WhatsApp to pause username feature rollout over fraud concerns
02 Jul 2026, 06:15 PMThe development comes just a week after Meta announced a nearly $900 million investment in Indian fintech startup CRED and appointed its founder, Kunal Shah, as the new global head of WhatsApp.
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The Indian government has asked Meta-owned WhatsApp not to roll out its proposed username feature in India until further consultations are completed, citing concerns that the change could make phishing, impersonation and other online scams easier.
The company has also been directed to submit, within three days, a detailed explanation of how the feature will work and the safeguards it has in place to prevent misuse.
In a notice to WhatsApp's Chief Compliance Officer, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said it had taken note of the company's plans to allow users to reserve unique usernames and initiate conversations without sharing their mobile phone numbers. While acknowledging the feature's privacy benefits, the ministry said it could materially increase cyber fraud by enabling bad actors to contact users more easily and impersonate individuals, government agencies and financial institutions through deceptive usernames.
The notice, issued under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology Rules, 2021, also asked WhatsApp to explain why regulatory action should not be initiated over a feature that the government believes could heighten cybercrime risks. It instructed the company not to launch the feature in India until consultations with the government are completed.
In response, WhatsApp said the username feature has not yet been launched and will be introduced gradually later this year. The company said users will continue to require a phone number to create and use a WhatsApp account, with usernames serving as an additional privacy layer rather than a replacement. It added that it has built multiple safeguards into the feature, including reserved usernames for public figures and government entities, blocks on lookalike usernames, limits on unsolicited messages from new accounts, and systems to detect impersonation and abusive behaviour.
The development comes just a week after Meta announced a nearly $900 million investment in Indian fintech startup CRED and appointed its founder, Kunal Shah, as the new global head of WhatsApp. To read The Head and Tale's analysis of the deal, click here.
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