India Orders WhatsApp to Halt Username Feature Over Fraud Fears

India has directed WhatsApp to pause the rollout of its upcoming username‑based chat feature, warning that it could fuel online fraud, phishing and impersonation scams if introduced without safeguards.

The feature — expected to allow users to chat without revealing their phone numbers — was set for a phased global rollout to WhatsApp’s three billion users later this year. But in a formal notice, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asked the company to justify why regulatory action should not be taken under Indian law “for launching a feature that may increase cybercrimes”.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, said the feature is not yet live and insisted it has built multiple layers of protection, including reserving high‑profile usernames, blocking lookalike variations and deploying systems to detect impersonation attempts.

With more than 850 million users, India is WhatsApp’s largest market — making the government’s intervention a significant development in the country’s tightening oversight of global tech platforms.

The ministry argued that username‑based interactions could “materially increase” digital fraud, phishing, identity spoofing and “digital arrest” scams by allowing criminals to contact victims without disclosing their phone numbers. It warned that usernames resembling those of government agencies, banks or public institutions could be used to deceive users.

The notice, seen by the BBC, also asked WhatsApp not to roll out the feature until consultations are completed “to the satisfaction of the government”.

India has been ramping up digital regulation. In February, authorities amended rules requiring social media platforms to remove unlawful content within three hours of notification — down from the previous 36‑hour window. Last month, Telegram was temporarily banned during the retest of a national medical entrance exam.

Cybercrime remains a major concern in India. More than 102,000 cases were recorded in 2024 — an 18% rise from the previous year — with nearly three‑quarters linked to online fraud.

Meta said users would still need a phone number to create an account and highlighted additional safeguards: limiting how many new users an account can contact, blocking repeated username‑guessing attempts, and showing recipients information about first‑time contacts, such as whether they share groups or are based in another country.

However, digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation criticised the government’s notice, saying it had “no clear basis in law” and amounted to an attempt to control what features tech companies can launch.

Source: BBC