{"id":2627,"date":"2026-07-04T13:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T13:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/?p=2627"},"modified":"2026-07-04T13:45:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T13:45:01","slug":"india-urges-meta-to-delay-whatsapp-username-launch-over-fraud-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/2026\/07\/04\/india-urges-meta-to-delay-whatsapp-username-launch-over-fraud-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"India Urges Meta to Delay WhatsApp Username Launch Over Fraud Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2628\" src=\"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FB_IMG_1783136959515-1-300x171.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FB_IMG_1783136959515-1-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FB_IMG_1783136959515-1.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\nThe Indian government has asked Meta to delay the rollout of WhatsApp&#8217;s new username feature, expressing concerns that it could expose users to increased online fraud and identity impersonation.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports, India&#8217;s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology requested that the company put the launch on hold until consultations with relevant stakeholders are completed.<\/p>\n<p>Meta recently announced plans to introduce usernames on WhatsApp, allowing users to connect without sharing their phone numbers.<\/p>\n<p>The feature is intended to improve privacy by enabling communication through unique usernames.<\/p>\n<p>However, Indian authorities warned that the system could be exploited by cybercriminals to impersonate legitimate users and carry out phishing scams, particularly targeting people with limited digital literacy.<\/p>\n<p>A senior government official reportedly said the feature could allow bad actors to claim usernames and deceive others by pretending to be someone else.<\/p>\n<p>India, WhatsApp&#8217;s largest market with more than 500 million users, has witnessed a surge in cybercrime.<\/p>\n<p>Official data shows that online fraud cost citizens nearly $3 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to the concerns, Meta said the username feature has not yet been launched in India and assured authorities that several safeguards have been built into the system.<\/p>\n<p>The company said usernames linked to verified accounts and public figures have been reserved to reduce impersonation risks.<\/p>\n<p>Meta also noted that users will still need a valid phone number to register for WhatsApp and said additional security measures have been implemented to detect and prevent scams ahead of the feature&#8217;s global rollout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; The Indian government has asked Meta to delay the rollout of WhatsApp&#8217;s new username feature, expressing concerns that it could expose users to increased online fraud and identity impersonation. According to reports, India&#8217;s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology requested that the company put the launch on hold until consultations with relevant stakeholders are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}