WhatsApp Username Feature: Mobile number… is your biggest identity on WhatsApp today. If a new person wants to talk to you, he needs your number. But now this whole system is going to change. Soon it will be possible to connect with people on WhatsApp only through Username. This means that a conversation can be started without disclosing the mobile number to the other person.
This feature sounds quite good. After all, who does not want that his personal mobile number is not accessible to everyone, but this feature has also increased the concern of the Government of India. The government fears that this facility may become a new weapon for cyber thugs. This is the reason why the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology i.e. MeitY has sent a notice to Meta and has sought a reply in three days and has asked not to launch this feature in India at present. Now the question is whether WhatsApp is going to increase people’s privacy or unknowingly opening a new avenue of fake identity and online fraud?
First understand… what is Username feature?
Till now the entire system of WhatsApp is based on mobile number. If you want to send a message to someone, it is necessary to have his/her number. But in the new feature the user will be able to choose a unique Username for himself. After this, the other person will be able to start chatting with you only through Username without seeing your number. Meta says that its purpose is to increase the privacy of people. Especially for those people who do business, buy and sell goods online, are part of a community or talk to people to whom they do not want to give their personal mobile number. However, it is important to make one thing clear here that as of now only Username reservation has been announced. The facility to chat with username is not live yet. According to Meta, it will be started in a phased manner this year.
What is the government worried about?
The whole story begins from here. The biggest concern of the government is just one word… ‘Impersonation’ means presenting oneself like another person, bank, government institution or company. MeitY fears that if people start trusting only by looking at the username instead of the mobile number, then it may become easier for cyber fraudsters to cheat people. It is clearly written in the government notice that this feature can increase the cases of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest, fraud by hiding identity and fake accounts. Understand this with an easy example…
Suppose the real username of a bank is…@SBIHelp. Now any fraudster can create a username similar to this…@SBI_Help or @SBIHelp_. At first glance the common man might not be able to understand the difference. If messages come from such accounts that…”Your bank account is about to be closed…”, “Update KYC…” or “Your UPI will be blocked…” then many people can trust it considering it to be genuine. This is the biggest danger.
Why is this fear bigger in India?
India is already facing a big challenge of cyber fraud. There are many cases of fake customer care, digital arrest, fraud in the name of investment, KYC update, electricity bill, fraud in the name of courier. In all these cases, fraudsters first try to win trust. If they get a username that looks like that of a bank, government department or official, it can become easier to confuse people.
Government figures also show that in the last few years, complaints of cyber fraud have increased rapidly and fraud worth thousands of crores of rupees has been registered. In such a situation, the government is not only looking at this feature as a technical change but also from the perspective of law and order and cyber security.
What did the government say in the notice?
MeitY has raised many important questions in the notice sent to Meta. The government has asked that if the mobile number is hidden then how will fake identification be stopped? If a person keeps a username like that of a government department, bank or any famous person, then how will he be stopped? How will law enforcement agencies reach the real person if needed?
Does this feature comply with IT Act 2000 and IT Rules 2021?
In the notice, Meta has been asked to reply within three days. It has also been said that until the government is satisfied on this issue, this feature should not be rolled out in India. But has the government completely banned this feature? No. It is very important to understand this. The government has not imposed a permanent ban on the Username feature of WhatsApp. At present the government wants to review the security aspects. That means the matter is still in the phase of negotiation and investigation.
What is WhatsApp saying?
Meta has told ABP News that the Username feature is not live yet. At present, people have been given the option to reserve only their favorite Username. Chatting facility will start later in a phased manner. Meta claims that it has made many security arrangements keeping impersonation in mind since the beginning. According to the company, the names of public figures, government institutions, celebrities and Meta’s verified accounts have already been protected. Many lookalike usernames similar to them will also be reserved so that no one can misuse them.
WhatsApp has also made it clear that the mobile number is not being completely deleted. To use WhatsApp, the number will remain necessary as before. The only difference will be that your number will not be visible to every new person. The company says that someone must know your exact username to send you a message.
The system will block repeated attempts to guess the username. There will also be a limit on how many people new accounts can contact. Additionally, automated systems have been installed to identify and remove patterns of fake identity and misuse. When someone messages you for the first time through Username, WhatsApp will also tell whether it is a new account or not, whether it is in your contacts or not, whether there is a shared group or not and from which country he is messaging, so that the user can decide for himself how to reply.
Will the security system of WhatsApp alone be enough?
This is the most important question of this entire controversy. Cyber experts believe that no technical security system is 100 percent secure. Every new feature also brings with it new dangers. Therefore, the real challenge is not to bring the feature but to prevent its misuse. If Meta’s security measures prove effective, the Username feature could increase people’s privacy. But if there is even a slight deficiency in preventing fake identities, then this feature can become a new weapon for cyber thugs.
understand the other side too
Some digital rights organizations believe that blocking a feature merely because of the fear of misuse is not the right approach. He says that real action should be taken against criminals and not on new technology. The government’s argument is that considering the safety of crores of Indians, it is important to first understand the risk. Now everyone’s eyes will be on Meta’s answer. Because in the coming days, this will decide in what form and with what security conditions the Username feature of WhatsApp will be launched in India.
Also read: What are the concerns regarding WhatsApp Usernames feature, due to which the government had to send a notice? know
