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New Delhi : The Centre has extended the deadline for WhatsApp to respond to questions regarding its upcoming username feature, giving the company until July 9 to submit its explanation to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The extension comes as the government continues to assess the feature’s implications for privacy, cybersecurity and law enforcement before allowing its rollout in India.
WhatsApp’s proposed username feature will enable users to connect without sharing their mobile phone numbers, offering an additional layer of privacy. The company has said usernames will be unique to each account and will function differently from display names, which can be identical across multiple users.
Government officials have reportedly asked Meta not to introduce the feature in India until consultations are complete. Authorities are examining whether the new system could create challenges related to identity verification, online safety, cyber fraud and account misuse.
Officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have also expressed concerns that the feature could make it more difficult for investigators to identify individuals involved in online fraud or impersonation.
According to officials, bad actors could misuse usernames, publicly identifiable names or profile photos to mislead users, potentially complicating cybercrime investigations.
Discussions between the Centre and Meta are expected to continue over the coming days as the government seeks to balance enhanced user privacy with cybersecurity and law enforcement requirements. WhatsApp has not yet publicly commented on the extension of the July 9 deadline.
