‘WhatsApp, Telegram Signal’s replies received on username feature’:Govt will announce its decision soon, says IT secretary

Messaging platforms have submitted their responses to notices served on the username feature, and the government will disclose its stance on the issue after examining the replies received, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Monday, 13 July, 2026, according to news agency, PTI. Three platforms — WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal — had come under regulatory glare after the government issued notices on the controversial username feature, that essentially allows people on the messaging platforms to communicate without sharing their phone numbers. On the usernames issue, yes, the responses have been received from some of the platforms. We are examining those responses, and we will make available our stance Platforms had been given 7-10 days to respond. So we also need some time to examine those responses. -IT Secretary S Krishnan Regarding the username feature, the central government had sent notices to social media platforms Telegram and Signal after WhatsApp. The government has asked what steps they were taking to prevent online fraud, fake identities, and cybercrimes from occurring through the username feature. The government had expressed apprehension that this could lead to an increase in incidents of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest, and scams. WhatsApp earlier had replied to the government – our feature is secure WhatsApp had stated in response to the government’s notice that the username feature includes security measures that will protect against fake identities, online fraud, and other cybercrimes. India is WhatsApp’s largest market. It has over 50 crore users in the country. What is WhatsApp’s Username Feature? With the help of WhatsApp’s Username feature, users would be able to communicate with others without sharing their phone numbers. It would act as an optional unique identifier for users. This username would always start with the ‘@’ symbol, for example, @Name123. Using this, other people would be able to message or call you, and your phone number would remain completely private. This username would be different from the display name visible on your profile. Display names might be similar, but usernames would be absolutely unique for each account.