India halts WhatsApp's username feature over fraud and impersonation concerns
The Indian government has directed Meta-owned WhatsApp to suspend the rollout of its proposed "usernames" feature, citing concerns that it could fuel online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and identity spoofing.
According to a government letter reviewed by Reuters, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has asked WhatsApp to explain within three days why regulatory action should not be initiated against the proposed feature. The ministry has also instructed the company not to launch the feature in India until consultations with the government are completed.
The usernames feature is designed to let users reserve unique usernames and start conversations without sharing their phone numbers. While the feature has not yet been launched, Meta has said it has already reserved usernames for public figures, government entities and verified accounts to reduce the risk of impersonation.
However, the government believes the feature could significantly increase cybercrime by enabling malicious actors to contact users under anonymous identities. It has raised co
