WhatsApp, one of Hong Kong’s most popular messaging apps, will soon no longer require users to share their phone numbers before they start texting.
Starting this week, users can reserve a unique username, which allows them to text without swapping numbers, for use later this year when the Meta-owned service launches the feature.
Users will need to know a person’s exact username before they can text them for the first time.
United States tech giant Meta said on Monday that the new move was a step towards making the app more private, allowing users to join large group chats even if they felt unready to give out their numbers to take part.
“Once we launch usernames, when you message a person or business for the first time, they will no longer see your phone number if you enabled your username,” it said.
To control who can contact a user on WhatsApp via their username, Meta will introduce an optional username key that others will have to know beforehand.