LONDON (AP) — WhatsApp users will soon get the option of going by usernames instead of phone numbers, the company said Monday, announcing plans to address a privacy blind spot.
The app said it has started allowing users to reserve unique usernames, which can be used to contact WhatsApp users when the feature is launched later this year.
WhatsApp, which says it has more than 3 billion users globally, has until now allowed users to be contacted by anyone who has their phone number.
The app, owned by Meta Platforms, said in a blog post that over the “coming months” users will get the option to be found and contacted only by their username, and not their number. It wasn't more specific about the timeline.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's vice president of product, told reporters.
There won't be a directory of usernames on the app, and the app won't suggest names as you type.
“People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” she said.
WhatsApp's current privacy settings are limited to blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers. The app also allows users to add a profile name, but that's only displayed in chat groups for other people who don't have the user's contact info saved.
While Americans still prefer text messaging to WhatsApp, the app is widely used in Europe, Asia and much of the rest of the world.
Catchy online handles are highly coveted and users will likely scramble to claim a desirable one.
“I think a lot of people will go and get usernames and that’s why we decided to open reservations early,” Newton-Rex said.
Companies, organizations and creators with existing accounts on Meta's social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, will get the chance to claim their usernames on WhatsApp.
Usernames need to be between three and 35 characters. To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will hold back usernames for high-profile people or groups such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.
FILE - A WhatsApp icon is displayed on an iPhone, Nov. 15, 2018, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
KARANGASEM, Indonesia (AP) — Ketut Alit Widiantari, along with more than 30 of her female friends, walked barefoot to the temple courtyard in her village, carefully balancing her movements while wearing traditional clothes and headdress made of colorful leaves and flowers.
The 14-year-old girl and her peers in Tista village performed the sacred Rejang Kuningan dance on Saturday during the Kuningan holiday at Bali's Puseh temple, which serves as the spiritual center for the Balinese Hindu community in the area.
For Balinese Hindus, Kuningan marks the close of the 10-day Galungan festival, a period celebrating the triumph of good over evil. It is believed to be the day when deities and ancestral spirits, after descending to earth to bless their families and communities, return to the heavens.
Rejang, the sacred dance performed by young women in traditional dress moving slowly around a temple, is an offering for an audience of the unseen: the God and the ancestors of the residents in the village.
Before the dance begins, the girls are blessed by the temple priest, and their costumes and headdress are examined.
Rejang dance takes many forms across Bali, each shaped by the occasion, the ritual and the community that keeps it alive.
In the district of Karangasem, where villages preserve distinct traditions reflected even in the design of their temples, the dance becomes more than a sacred offering.
Through their costumes, music and dance formations, Widiantari and other Rejang Kuningan dancers carry the identity of their village, closing this year's Galungan and Kuningan rituals not only through prayer, but also through the traditions that their community continues to preserve.
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers wait to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Balinese women gather during the performance of the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Balinese men plays traditional musical instruments during the performance of the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A Hindu priest puts incense stick on the headwear of a dancer to bless her before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A religious volunteer, locally called "ngayah" gives blessing to dancers before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary hops on a motorbike before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Sangayu Tisna, left, prepares to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary prepares to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A headwear is prepared for a dancer to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary prepares before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary has her make-up done before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
