After WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal receive notices on username feature

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologies (MeitY) sent a notification to Telegram and Signal on Thursday, July 2, 2026, asking for information about the username feature. The notification came shortly after a similar message was sent to WhatsApp on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The Meta-owned messaging platform has yet to implement this feature anywhere in the world but is taking reservations for usernames.

Spokespeople for Telegram and Signal had no immediate comment to share regarding the notifications (Telegram was contacted outside normal business hours in the United Arab Emirates). The username feature appeared to be available on both platforms by Thursday evening.

The Union government’s move against the three messaging platforms comes after Telegram was banned for a week after authorities argued that outdated PDF files could lead people to wrongly assume a question paper had been leaked. Telegram fought the ban in the Delhi High Court, calling the move a “mistake”. The court sided with the government, considering the brief ban a proportionate response. Telegram was unblocked after the first attempt was leaked after the NEET exam was held.

The Internet Freedom Foundation, a Delhi-based digital advocacy group, called the crackdown on messaging platforms “an unconstitutional trap over privacy features” (accounts with usernames on all platforms are designed to hide phone numbers). “The executive restricts legal features, and with them the private communications that those features protect, without the authority of law,” the IFF said in a statement.

Arguing that the notifications were unconstitutional, the body added: “We agree that there may be regulatory authority for such features, but this requires a clear articulation of the policy intent based on legislation. This is not currently available. As we explained in our statement yesterday, no provision of the IT Act allows this.”

IFF said the notification to Signal was particularly concerning. “Signal… almost going on [no data on user accounts and activity]”The IFF has refused to create the searchable index that the ID warrant would require, and it is a tool relied upon by journalists, activists, and many at-risk individuals and their contacts, so a notice targeting it directly targets protected speech,” he said.