The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has directed Meta to not proceed with the rollout of the username feature on its messaging app WhatsApp over potential impersonation and cyberfraud issues, people aware of the matter said.
“The government has asked Meta to furnish a detailed explanation on the username feature within three days,” a person familiar with the matter said, adding that the company has also been directed to not roll out the feature until consultations on the matter conclude.
The directive to Meta comes amid government concerns that the feature on WhatsApp could be misused to create deceptive identities, increasing the risk of fraud and other threats to public safety. Some technology experts also warned that bad actors could exploit similar-looking usernames to impersonate users and carry out scams.
Govt inspection
“It is felt that the feature may materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims,” the government said in a letter to Meta. A copy of the letter was seen by Mint.
As per the letter, the government has also sought an explanation from the company as to why it should not take regulatory action under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and IT Rules 2021, “for launching a feature that may increase cybercrimes.”
While announcing the feature on Monday, WhatsApp said its users would now be able to reserve their usernames and use them to connect without having to share their phone numbers. The proposed feature has not yet been rolled out globally. So far, users have only received notifications asking them to reserve their usernames.
“Usernames are our latest step to make WhatsApp even more private. There’s no directory to browse and no suggestions—people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” the company wrote in a blog post on its site. The feature is particularly useful for connecting strangers, businesses, communities, or people who meet through online marketplaces, who may not want to disclose their personal mobile numbers, WhatsApp said.
However, officials at the department of telecommunications (DoT) also warned that the feature could allow overseas bad actors to create fake profiles for impersonation and fraudulent calls.
WhatsApp’s response
A WhatsApp spokesperson said in response to Mint’s queries, “To protect against impersonation, we’ve held the highest-profile names — think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts — so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well.”
“The ability to use a username is not yet live and will roll out slowly later this year,” the spokesperson said, adding that users will still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and that it had built multiple layers of defence against potential scams involving usernames.
“Other users need to know the exact username to message you, we will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone’s username key, and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns,” the spokesperson added.
The company also said that when the feature becomes available, it will provide users with more information about the person contacting them, including their country, whether the account is newly created, whether they are in the user’s contacts, and any groups they have in common.
Criticism on social media
In a post on X on Tuesday, entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo said the feature could prove to be a disaster if WhatsApp did not put anti-abuse systems in place. “I have fought a legal case against Meta’s lack of attempt to take down AI-generated ads showing my face, luring people into WhatsApp investment groups. I understand how massive this scam is and how easy it is to execute it in our country. So forgive me if, from a public figure’s standpoint, this feature raises some serious concerns,” Warikoo wrote.
Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma also warned that similar-looking usernames could become a major channel for impersonation and scams in the absence of sufficient protections.