WhatsApp Plans to Support Usernames and Offers New Methods for Updating Contacts

In order to eventually enable the addition of new contacts using a username instead of a phone number, WhatsApp is increasing the locations and methods for adding and updating contacts. WhatsApp stated in a blog post on Tuesday that at first, the chat app will let you update your contacts list from the web and Windows apps of the service, with ambitions to eventually extend to other connected devices.

Currently, the primary phone on which a WhatsApp account is created must be used to handle contacts; however, the expansion to other devices should provide greater freedom. Additionally, WhatsApp is providing the option to save contacts straight to the service, which the release says would be useful for managing both personal and business WhatsApp accounts or when one phone is shared with others.

According to WhatsApp, these functionalities will be accessible in the next weeks. However, adding contacts by username is a longer-term objective that the service will go into more detail about as the functionality approaches availability. Notably, it would enable users to initiate chats without disclosing extra personal information, which on WhatsApp is usually a phone number. Signal, which introduced a similar feature earlier this year, is following suit with this goal of adding username support, which might increase privacy as other texting services add comparable features.

Using a search feature or a QR code, you may add contacts who aren't Facebook friends on Messenger, Meta's other chat program that has long been separate from the Facebook app. However, during the past year, Facebook Messenger has been moving its service to have encryption enabled by default, in contrast to WhatsApp, which has had message encryption available by default. Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, lets users text people without having to follow them on the app and offers encryption as an optional feature.