On June 29, Meta asked its users to get a handle on their handles, because usernames are coming to WhatsApp.
Rather than using their phone numbers as their in-app ID, WhatsApp users can now reserve a username that includes an @ sign. The change will make WhatsApp URLs resemble usernames on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where the @ sign is the typical starting point for handles.
WhatsApp’s encrypted messaging service has long made it a top choice for users who are sensitive about data privacy. Usernames are another security feature for those cautious sorts, who will be able to chat without sharing their phone numbers.
Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories
“Sometimes you just want to chat without handing over your digits,” reads a Meta blog post. “That’s why we’re introducing usernames for WhatsApp. Starting this week, you can reserve a username to use later this year when we launch this feature.”
Meta’s appeal to user safety is reasonable, but is it the entire story? What if WhatsApp usernames are also meant to bring more personality — and, by extension, more creators — to the app?
While Meta has turned platforms like Facebook and Instagram into creator hotspots, the story of WhatsApp is not so straightforward. Since acquiring the messaging app in 2014, Meta has imbued it with a few creator-oriented features, including a Snapchat-esque format called Status and a tool for sticker creation.
Those updates didn’t move the needle much, but in recent years, Meta has brought WhatsApp in line with its other properties. Paid subscriptions bring a notable monetization feature to the 17-year-old app, and WhatsApp got a piece of the World Cup activation Meta launched across its platform.
The idea of an encrypted messaging service as a creator locus may sound far-fetched, but if platforms like BeReal and Meta’s Threads can attract creator content, so can WhatsApp. The app’s base of more than three billion monthly users makes it a logical home for crowdsourced features. Meta can also use a more social version of WhatsApp to recruit creators in India, where approximately 850 million people are reported to use WhatsApp.
On the flipside, making WhatsApp creator-friendly would be easier said than done. The decline of BeReal is a reminder that sometimes a messaging app is just a messaging app. For now, WhatsApp usernames are merely a security feature, so if you want to protect your phone number, go ahead and tell Meta which moniker you’d like to reserve.
