A big and privacy-related update is about to come for WhatsApp users, which can completely change the way the app is used. Till now, whenever you had to chat with a new user, whether it was in a group or an unknown contact, your mobile number was visible to the other person. But soon, WhatsApp is going to bring a feature through which you will be able to chat with someone without sharing your mobile number.
The new feature will support username-based chatting like apps like Telegram and Signal. That is, now you will be able to create a unique username for yourself, and that will become your identity. If you start talking to a new contact or have a conversation with an unknown person in a group, the other person will only see your username, not your mobile number.
Hints of a new feature found in the beta version
Information about the privacy feature first came to light from a report by WABetaInfo, which said that its testing has started in WhatsApp’s iOS beta version 25.17.10.70. Users have been given the option to set their desired username in this version. This username can be between 3 to 30 characters and small letters, numbers, underscores, and dots can be used in it.
That’s why this feature will prove to be useful
WhatsApp is introducing this new feature with the aim of increasing ‘individual privacy’. This feature will be especially beneficial for those users who are active in professional or public groups and do not want to share their mobile number with everyone. This will make chatting on WhatsApp safer and more personal than ever.
However, this feature is not available to general users right now, but it is expected that after the testing phase is completed, it will be rolled out on both Android and iOS platforms. If reports are to be believed, this update is likely to be available to all users in the second half of this year.
