WhatsApp: Meta-owned platform may introduce usernames in its latest user-friendly update

Meta-owned platform WhatsApp has been developing several new features this year, with a few such as editing messages, beginning to be globally accessed. However, reports of its latest feature may change the way the app is used. 

The latest news is rumoured to be a profile update. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on creating a new username option where users can choose their own unique handle. 

This will mimic fellow Meta-owned app, Instagram, and will feature in the profile section of the app. However, since not much is known about the new development, WABetaInfo says it could provide another layer of privacy. So how will the new username feature work?

How would the update work? 

If this passes the development stage, WaBetaInfo revealed the update will be in the settings menu under an accounts profile’s page. There, you can change your username to anything by tapping the pencil icon and entering a name.

WaBetaInfo also confirmed that any “conversations initiated through usernames will still be protected by end-to-end encryption.” The new feature will allow you to hide your number as people can now add you via username, and it will make it easier to locate other people. This means in features such as Community, you’ll be able to identify specific people rather than get lost in a sea of numbers. 

WhatsApp privacy features 

WhatsApp has also added additional privacy features during a time when the UK is looking to weaken end-to-end encryption in a new Online Safety Bill. The app has introduced a chat lock feature, where conversations can be protected “behind one more layer of security”. 

In an Instagram broadcast channel, CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted: "New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private. They're hidden in a password-protected folder and notifications won't show sender or message content."

If you decide to lock a certain chat, it will disappear from your general inbox and be in another folder only accessible via your fingerprint or phone’s password. Any notification for the locked chat will also have the sender and message hidden. To initiate this feature, tap the name of the person or group chat in WhatsApp, and select Lock. 

This feature should be available on the latest update as the feature is rolling out globally, so if it is not available on your device, try updating the app. WhatsApp has also said it will keep adding more options to chat lock, which includes unique passwords for certain chats and locking chats on other devices, such as your smartwatch or desktop.