WhatsApp is working on a new feature that is intended to improve the privacy of its users. The main idea adds two new features to the messaging service:
- Let users create a username, which they then may share with others instead of their phone number.
- Add a Pin to the username to block unwanted messages to that username.
Any WhatsApp user may contact any other user on the platform currently. All that is required for that is a phone number. While the contacted user has the option to block any further messages or communication attempts, it is still a major nuisance.
WhatsApp users who want to communicate with someone on WhatsApp need to hand out their phone number to do so currently. This may not be a problem for someone trusted, but it could very well end in disaster for others.
Did you know? WhatsApp is also working on limiting spam messages by blocking messages from unknown accounts that exceed a certain limit.
The optional username addresses this. Instead of handing out the phone number, you could create and then hand out the username only. This protects the phone number, but still allows others to communicate with you on WhatsApp.
The pin adds a second layer of protection. While completely optional, it will prompt anyone for the pin when trying to contact WhatsApp users using their username.
WhatsApp users who pick a popular or common name for their username may want to add a pin, as spammers may start to send messages to these names in the hope that they have been created by someone on the platform.
WABetaInfo reports that the feature is in testing in the latest Beta version of WhatsApp. Not every beta tester is given access to new features and it may take some time before a feature is rolled out to more users.
There is also the chance that a feature is never making it into stable WhatsApp. Only time will tell if and when we are going to see the new username and pin option.
Closing Words
Adding a username option to WhatsApp makes a lot of sense from a user’s privacy point of view. WhatsApp is no longer just used to communicate with friends or family. Even in some of those cases, you may prefer not to hand out your phone number.
What is your take on this new feature? Would you create a username, if WhatsApp would launch it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.