Username Feature: India Reviewing Responses Sent by WhatsApp, Telegram

The Indian government is reportedly examining the responses sent by Telegram and WhatsApp over their username feature. 

The development comes after India asked WhatsApp to pause the upcoming username feature. 

For the uninitiated, WhatsApp recently teased a new feature called “usernames” which allows users to interact with each other without sharing their phone numbers. It also asked users to claim their unique usernames. 

The move, however, drew wide concerns with many highlighting potential risks of rise in impersonation, spam and cybercrime through Whatsapp. 

The government in its notice to WhatsApp said that the feature “may materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims.”

“Furthermore, this feature may facilitate impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies, by permitting the adoption of usernames closely resembling those of genuine persons or institutions,” the letter added. 

In addition to seeking a detailed explanation on the new feature within three days of receiving the letter, it also directed the company not to roll out the feature until consultation on the point is achieved to the satisfaction of the government.

Following the notice to WhatsApp, many had pointed out the existence of a similar functionality in Telegram. 

It is worth highlighting that the government had briefly banned Telegram in a bid to prevent cheating and fraud during the re-examinations of NEET-UG. Authorities discovered several scams trying to sell “leaked” papers on the platform.

Meanwhile, Zoho’s Arattai has removed its username-based account feature citing regulatory challenges. 

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