WhatsApp will allow individuals in Nigeria and the rest of the world to use the application without a phone number. It is reported that th...
WhatsApp will allow individuals in Nigeria and the rest of the world to use the application without a phone number.
It is reported that the users will be able to create their own usernames such as on Instagram, Telegram, or X. It is among the most significant modifications in the history of privacy of the app.
WhatsApp had a beta testing program that had the feature. It will allow individuals to chat and be in groups using their usernames rather than phone numbers. It is supposed to provide individuals with an added privacy and control particularly when talking to many people at once or when conducting business talks whereby giving out phone numbers may be considered to be impolite.
It has been leaked that a new field in user profiles, named Username, exists. This allows one to pick distinct handles and conceal their phone numbers in case they wish to. WhatsApp claims that the nickname cannot start with the prefix www. It should contain at least one letter and it can consist of lowercase letters, numbers, spaces and underscores only.
GSMA says that the feature is also likely to keep users safer, as not all people would wish to share their phone numbers with the individuals they met recently. That will be assisted by the new username approach.
It is possible that the change would turn WhatsApp into something similar to a social network, yet it also concerns people more about squatting on names and masquerading as someone else. WhatsApp will also add verification features to ensure that people do not misuse the service.
The user name component is also under test.
With any luck, it will transform how over two billion WhatsApp users communicate with one another and will result in the app not being about a number anymore, but rather a face.