WhatsApp username feature has defenses against scams — Meta says it has ‘systems to detect and remove…’

Meta Platforms Inc. WhatsApp will only allow high-profile names to be claimed by legitimate owners as part of efforts to combat impersonation in its new username feature, the company said on Wednesday.

Meta’s WhatsApp messenger this week started allowing customers to reserve a unique username and is scheduled to go live later this year.

According to the Press Trust of India, based on anonymous sources, this move has come under the scrutiny of the Indian government and the Indian government is expected to ask WhatsApp to explain this feature and its consequences.

India’s technology ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Meta said WhatsApp has built in several layers of defense against fraud in its username feature.

“Other users need to know the exact username to send you messages, we will limit the number of new people an account can contact, we will block repeated attempts to guess someone’s username key, and we will have systems in place to detect and remove activity that shows common patterns of impersonation and abuse,” WhatsApp said in its statement.

India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 600 million users, and any serious response from the government could limit its ability to roll out the new username feature globally.