/ Its First Big Update Is All About Privacy
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In the wake of its new CEO taking over operations, WhatsApp makes the first major announcement and it’s nothing about AI and payments but rather more user privacy.
With the recent appointment of Kunal Shah as the new CEO of WhatsApp, the application has announced that it will roll out the username reservations to users across the platform. While this has been referred to as just another privacy feature, there’s a lot that the timing of this update says about the platform’s future plans.
For years, WhatsApp has been using phone numbers as the primary way of identifying users. That is about to change, with the upcoming updates.
Now, users of WhatsApp will have the ability to replace phone numbers with usernames as the identity for their accounts. Users will get to share unique names with each other without revealing any of their private details.
This is particularly helpful for creators, freelancers, businesses, online sellers and community members who often deal with new users and do not wish to show their real phone numbers to others. Unlike social media platforms, WhatsApp will keep the experience of its users private by not offering any profile search.
As WhatsApp prepares for the upcoming release, it is enabling users to reserve their usernames ahead of the official launch. All users need to do is update the app and check Settings > Account > Username, then select a unique username.
If the chosen username is taken, WhatsApp will recommend alternative names for you. Furthermore, the company will reserve the usernames for public figures and organizations to prevent any impersonations.
This update fixes one of the greatest privacy issues on the app. Prior to this, users could only communicate with new people by sharing their mobile number with them.
With the username functionality, users can separate communication from their personal identity. Now users can engage in networking, buying and selling online, community interactions and business dealings without disclosing their phone numbers.
What’s more important, WhatsApp has designed the system in a way that it will preserve privacy. There won’t be any public directory of usernames making it hard for anyone to find users accounts.
While many messaging apps already have usernames functionality, WhatsApp update feels quite different due to the scale of the platform. With more than 3 billion users, even the smallest change in how identity is managed can alter how billions of people communicate online.
Rather than just adopting this trend, WhatsApp is changing the very model of identity. The app is getting rid of the phone number as the identity and providing users with the opportunity to control who they allow to contact them.
It would seem obvious to expect WhatsApp to announce some developments related to AI, payments or business messaging under the new leadership. Instead, WhatsApp has chosen a rather humble way to make its first announcement after Kunal Shah became the CEO.
While this update has most likely been prepared well before the CEO took charge, the decision to introduce it at the time of the change shows the company’s vision.
So far, three directions have been clear:
If the first steps of WhatsApp under the new CEO indicate anything, this is the right way to go. Rather than inventing a new messaging platform with lots of fancy features, WhatsApp is reinforcing its main advantage – the privacy and security of the messages.
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