India halts rollout of WhatsApp username feature pending security review

The Indian government has placed a temporary ban on WhatsApp’s planned username feature, citing concerns that the change could enable fraud, phishing and other cyber‑crimes by allowing users to conceal their phone numbers. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked Meta to provide detailed answers within three days on how the feature will comply with the IT Act 2000 and IT Rules 2021, and how law‑enforcement agencies could obtain the real identity of a sender during investigations. Meta responded that the feature is intended to enhance user privacy and includes safeguards such as blocking repeated attempts to guess a username and flagging fake accounts. The launch of the feature in India will remain on hold until the government’s queries are satisfactorily addressed.