WhatsApp to Phase Out Phone Numbers, Introduces New Feature for Contact Sharing
- The leading messaging platform, WhatsApp, is introducing a new feature that will allow users to stop sharing their phone numbers
- WhatsApp is introducing usernames in place of phone numbers, giving users the option to display their unique user names
- According to reports, users will have to choose a unique username, which will include numbers and letters
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
WhatsApp is getting a new feature, which will allow users to stop using their phone numbers for registration and contact-sharing.
The world’s leading messaging platform is working on a new feature, which will let users have usernames instead of phone numbers.
Source: UGC
WhatsApp users to dump phone numbers
The Meta-owned platform does not currently allow users to log in with a username and password, however, it requires them to use their phone numbers.
According to WaBetaInfo, the new WhatsApp feature will allow individuals and businesses to use usernames.
The new feature is not currently available for testing.
How will new WhatsApp feature work?
WhatsApp users will get an option to create a unique username, consisting of letters and numbers, without special characters.
Mashable reports that usernames won’t be allowed to begin with www. or end with a domain such as .com to stop people from tricking others into pretending they represent a website.
The messaging platform will also not allow users to duplicate usernames.
Usernames will be visible to others, such as when someone you’re chatting with updates their username, they will see a system message in the chat notifying them of the change.
The new feature will enable users to hide their phone numbers when chatting on the platform, as they will have the option to choose usernames to show instead.
Reports say Meta is currently fine-tuning the feature and could change before it is released.
WhatsApp introduces 7 new features
Before now, WhatsApp had announced new updates for calls, chats, and channels to boost the messaging and calling experience as it tries to take on platforms like Telegram and Discord.
One of the most notable new features is the online indicator appearing at the top of a group chat, showing how many people are online to chat.
WhatsApp adds new features to group chats
Another addition is the feature that allows users to highlight some notifications, which they can use the newly added Notify in settings and messages saved from contacts or All to receive all notifications.
Yet another feature gives users the option to scan and send documents on an iPhone. Users select scan document from the attachment options and then follow the steps to scan, crop, and save the document.
WhatsApp upgrades iPhone features
Additionally, iPhone users can now set WhatsApp as their default messaging and calling app. Also, iPhone users can zoom in and out during video calls by pinching.
For video calls, the messaging platform says it has upgraded to make video calls more reliable and of higher quality, leading to reduced dropped calls and video freezing.
Source: Getty Images
Also, users can add someone to an ongoing one-on-one call from a chat thread by tapping the call icon at the top of the screen and selecting Add to the call.
Elon Musk announces new rival for WhatsApp
Legit.ng earlier reported that Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), had announced the launch of XChat.
Tesla CEO claimed that the new XChat feature of the platform would offer encryption, disappearing messages and cross-platform audio and video calls.
He noted that the direct messaging (DM) feature is set to redefine communication on the platform.
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