WhatsApp says it will introduce a feature that lets users communicate using chosen usernames instead of phone numbers. Multiple outlets report that the company announced the change as a way to address a “privacy blind spot,” reducing how much personal contact information is exposed when people reach each other on the platform. The feature is described as giving users more control over who can contact them, by allowing them to share a username rather than their phone number. Coverage notes that WhatsApp is used by billions of people worldwide, and the change is aimed at improving privacy settings and user choice around contact discovery and messaging. Courthouse News and other reports frame the update as part of broader efforts to strengthen privacy practices within the app, while still enabling people to connect through messaging. The announcements indicate that this option will be rolled out to users in the future, with WhatsApp presenting it as a privacy-focused modification to the way contact information is used on the service.