WhatsApp Username Row Latest News: Yesterday, American tech giant Meta submitted its response to the centre regarding concerns over the WhatsApp username feature. But now, reports have emerged that the government is planning uniform rules for all players in the industry as a result of the username row.
WhatsApp Username Row Latest News: Centre’s Latest Move
According to reliable reports, the central government’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is currently devising standardised guidelines that will be applicable to all messaging platforms that operate in India.
Speaking about the same, a ministry official said ““We are also looking at bringing in common standards for messaging platforms so there is legal backing for such decisions. It cannot be that we stop one platform from rolling out a feature while allowing others to continue offering the same thing. The rules have to be uniform for everyone. We will discuss this with all messaging platforms before taking a final decision”.
WhatsApp Username Row Latest News: Meta Submits Its Response
Yesterday, Meta as well as Russian social media firm Telegram formally submitted their respective responses to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The development comes after the ministry issued a 3 day deadline to the American tech giant to discuss all fears and concerns about the planned username feature. However, details of what Meta said in its response have not been disclosed and the official stated the ministry is currently examining the response.
The official also implied that the centre is still not in favour of proceeding with the WhatsApp username feature. “We are not in favour of WhatsApp introducing this feature. Given its massive user base in India, usernames could make impersonation, digital arrest scams, online fraud and even investigations by law enforcement more difficult”, they explained. Meta has reassured that the feature won’t be implemented in India until all concerns are addressed
What’s the WhatsApp Username Row?
The row between the Indian government’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and social media giant erupted earlier this month.
The government blocked the rollout of a new username feature in WhatsApp (initially supposed to be implemented from July 1, 2026) citing crime related concerns. Government officials and cybersecurity experts fear that the new feature could cause a rise in cybercrimes including phishing, impersonation, and ‘digital arrest’ scams.
WhatsApp Username Row: What Meta Has Said
Previously, Meta shared that multiple layers of defence have been incorporated internally to address all safety related concerns of the username feature, including algorithms to detect and block patterns of digital fraud. It also said that the newly incorporated defence system will also place strict limits on accounts trying to contact multiple users
About the WhatsApp Username Feature
The WhatsApp username feature was launched by Meta on June 29th, 2026. As part of the new feature, your contact number will not be automatically visible to others and you will have control over who gets access to your contact number.
Instead, a username of your choice, between 3 to 35 characters will be displayed. And in case you are one of those who opt for a username, your phone number will not be visible when you message someone or a business for the first time.
At the time of the launch, the American social media giant claimed that the new username feature will successfully make interactions on WhatsApp less intrusive and increase privacy. The timeline for the updated rollout of this feature likely won’t be shared unless Meta addresses all concerns of the government and industry experts.
