WhatsApp will allow users to go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a privacy blind spot

Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2026 9:40 am

Kelvin Chan | The Associated Press

LONDON — 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.

Click here to read more.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

Scroll the Latest Job Opportunities From The Media Job Board

E&P Exclusive Reporting

Rural journalism fights for survival as newsrooms in small communities confront big economic challenges

Rural newsrooms are fighting for survival, but their greatest challenges extend well beyond shrinking advertising revenue and limited staffing. In communities where businesses are disappearing, populations are aging and philanthropic resources are scarce, even the most innovative journalism ventures struggle to find sustainable business models. In this E&P exclusive — with the help of news professionals from the Clarendon Enterprise, Allegheny Mountain Radio and 100 Days in Appalachia — Taayoo Murray examines the precarious state of rural journalism and the strategies helping news organizations endure.

TribLIVE examines a ‘Constitution Under Construction’

How do you make the U.S. Constitution — a document created nearly 240 years ago — relevant, accessible and engaging to today’s news media audience? At TribLIVE, Columnist and Community Engagement Editor Lori Falce found a creative answer. Her yearlong editorial series, “Constitution Under Construction,” explores the amendments through the lens of architecture. In this E&P Quick Read, Bob Miller shares how Falce’s innovative approach to constitutional education resonated with readers across the political spectrum and demonstrated the enduring value of a thoughtfully curated opinion page.

Latest Legacy Magazine

#NewsPeople on the move

Veteran Montana journalist to lead Great Falls Tribune

Lee Enterprises has tapped an award-winning veteran journalist and news leader with deep ties to Montana to be publisher and editor of the Great Falls Tribune.

Yahya Salem joins CNN Creators team

Alongside the rest of the Creators team, Yahya Salem will report on the stories shaping culture and conversation from CNN’s state-of-the-art facility in Doha, Qatar.

See more NewsPeople

Latest E&P Partner News

ProImage OnColor Image Toning SaaS delivers consistent print quality while dramatically reducing manual prepress work

Automated image toning helps newspaper printer reduce weekly color-correction time from seven to eight hours to just minutes, improving consistency across 25 newspapers.

The Villages Media Group enhances production efficiency with ProImage’s NewsWayX

The Villages Media Group has chosen ProImage’s NewsWayX to streamline its production workflow and address long-standing challenges. The installation of NewsWayX, a cloud-based workflow management solution, has enabled the company to achieve greater flexibility, efficiency and accuracy in the printing processes.

You published it. Have you collected it? Column data puts public notice cash flow in focus

Amsterdam News once collected about 40 cents of every dollar it billed for classifieds, including legal notices. Today, that figure is 90 to 98 cents. Learn how the publication improved collections, what new data supplied by Column, reveals about getting paid faster, and why rethinking payment practices could strengthen your publication’s cash flow.

WhatsApp will allow users to go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a privacy blind spot

Comments

Trump says he was just kidding about making UFC’s Dana White his press secretary

America’s Newspapers files amicus brief in OpenAI and Microsoft copyright litigation

Donald Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ interview was a mixture of denial, reflection and contradiction following midterm drubbing

Poynter releases new conflict of interest guidelines for journalism funders

Rural journalism fights for survival as newsrooms in small communities confront big economic challenges

TribLIVE examines a ‘Constitution Under Construction’

Why the news media ecosystem is critical to the survival of the arts and the broader health of the community

Meet the 2026 Operations All-Stars