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WhatsApp is moving forward with changing usernames, with a new update now completely hides users’ phone numbers when viewing their WhatsApp profile.
As you can see in this example, posted by Android PoliceWhatsApp is currently developing a new profile view that hides user phone numbers and instead shows only your chosen username in the app.
WhatsApp has been working on the username update for a while now, as it looks to bring it more in line with its social media style approach to identity, while also offering more protection for users’ phone numbers.
Usernames add an extra layer of separation between your online and IRL identities, which can be especially valuable when dealing with companies or people you don’t know personally on the app.
In November, WhatsApp started informing users about the upcoming option:
The update also means brands can create a more unique identity within the app, which can boost your branding efforts.
The change also comes after a team of Austrian researchers discovered a potential flaw in WhatsApp’s security that could allow spammers and scammers to collect large databases of phone numbers based on this feature.
The research team used a series of random phone number combinations in the app Get the phone numbers of more than 3.5 billion users from the platform.
WhatsApp has since confirmed that it has addressed this concern, based on these findings, and has reassured users that there is no evidence that the process is being used as a data collection option. But either way, the move to usernames will further close this gap and ensure that WhatsApp users don’t unknowingly give out their contact details.
So, time to prepare for WhatsApp usernames, which will likely soon be a key identifier in the app.
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