WhatsApp has started letting people reserve usernames, a step away from phone numbers as the app’s main way to identify users.
Meta, the app’s parent company, opened reservations worldwide on June 29, 2026.
Anyone can now claim a name of three to 35 characters by going to Settings, then Account, then Username.
The feature stays optional, and Meta says the full rollout will land gradually later this year.
Alice Newton-Rex, vice president and head of product at WhatsApp, explained the thinking behind the shift.
“Your phone number is personal, and it’s tied to so many other parts of your life,” she said.
More than three billion people already use WhatsApp, so Meta opened reservations early to avoid a last-minute scramble once usernames go live everywhere.
WhatsApp packaged the update as a list of the questions people ask most, and this article walks through every one of them.
First, the basics: usernames are not mandatory, so anyone can keep chatting exactly as they do today, phone number and all.
Why Some Usernames Are Off Limits
Not every name is up for grabs, and Meta lists three reasons why.
An existing Instagram or Facebook username stays reserved for its current owner, so matching handles carry straight across.
Well-known names, including celebrities, public figures, government entities and Meta-verified accounts, sit locked away for their legitimate owners only.
If someone else already claimed a common first name, WhatsApp’s built-in username generator suggests close alternatives instead.
Meta has also pushed back publicly on rumors that ordinary users can somehow reserve famous or trademarked names, calling those claims false.
Businesses and creators get one extra option: linking their WhatsApp account to a matching Instagram or Facebook profile to prove ownership before claiming that same handle.
Once verified, that link can be removed, and the person can switch to a WhatsApp-only username if they prefer.
How WhatsApp Blocks Impersonators And Spam
Usernames will not show up in any searchable directory, so a stranger cannot type in a name and find your profile.
“There’s no directory to browse and no suggestions – people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” WhatsApp said, according to reporting from SQ Magazine.
That design mirrors how phone numbers already work on the app, since nobody can search WhatsApp the way they might search Instagram.
For extra protection, users can turn on a username key, a second code that a stranger must know alongside the username itself before they can send a first message.
Anyone can reset that key at any time, instantly cutting off further contact from someone using the old one.
The existing warning system stays in place too, flagging new senders by country of origin and shared groups before a first reply gets sent.
Reports and blocks still feed directly into Meta’s enforcement process against scammers who try to impersonate real people.
Usernames can also be changed later, as long as the replacement name is still available.
WhatsApp says it is moving carefully and gathering feedback before the wider launch, rather than rushing every user into the change at once.
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