{"id":1929,"date":"2026-07-05T15:30:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T15:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/?p=1929"},"modified":"2026-07-05T15:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T15:30:44","slug":"asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"group\">\n<p>U.S. social media giant\u00a0<span id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1\" class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/META\/\">Meta Platforms<\/a><span id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><\/button><\/span><\/span>\u00a0has defended the rollout of usernames on its messaging platform, after the Indian government on Wednesday said the move could lead to a rise in cybercrime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsers still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we\u2019ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,\u201d a Meta spokesperson told CNBC in an email.<\/p>\n<div class=\"BoxInline-container  \">\n<div id=\"BoxInline-ArticleBody-5\" class=\"BoxInline-container\" data-module=\"mps-slot\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The tech company said it will limit the number of new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess usernames, and enable systems to detect and remove activity demonstrating common patterns associated with impersonation or abuse.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the username feature is not live and will be rolled out \u201cslowly later this year.\u201d On Monday, WhatsApp introduced usernames, claiming it to be a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2026\/06\/its-time-to-reserve-your-whatsapp-username\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major privacy feature\u201d<\/a>\u00a0designed to help people stay connected without giving away phone numbers.<\/p>\n<p>According to a report by Indian news agency ANI, the Indian government said that the username feature \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ANI\/status\/2072337432016822671?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">may materially increase the incidence<\/a>\u00a0of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It has given WhatsApp three days to furnish a detailed explanation on the feature or face action under the country\u2019s information technology regulations. The company has been directed to pause the rollout of the feature until the government\u2019s concerns are addressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline0\"><\/a>Safety over privacy<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>While user privacy does play a role in policymaking, the \u201csharp rise in cyber-enabled financial crime has undoubtedly shifted the center of gravity towards security,\u201d Reema Bhattacharya, head of Asia research at Verisk Maplecroft,\u00a0told CNBC.<\/p>\n<div class=\"MidResponsive-midResponsiveContainer\">\n<div id=\"MidResponsive-1\" class=\"\" data-module=\"mps-slot\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-midresponsive-2134224456\" class=\"mps-slot\" data-mps-slot=\"midresponsive\" data-mps-loadset=\"0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Meta\u2019s own Adversarial Threat report in March found that online scam syndicates\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/transparency.meta.com\/sr\/first-half-2026-Adversarial-threat-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">targeted users in India<\/a>\u00a0more frequently than any country other than the U.S. According to the Indian government, cybercrime incidents more\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=155384&amp;ModuleId=3&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">than doubled in 2024<\/a>\u00a0to nearly 2.3 million cases from 1 million cases in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>India has more than half a billion WhatsApp users, and this scale makes it prone to government scrutiny, experts said.<\/p>\n<p>WhatApp\u2019s reach, coupled with the username feature, means \u201cmisinformation could spread even faster,\u201d and scammers could use familiar names and photos to impersonate people, said Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these concerns are being addressed by Meta. The company told CNBC that it would reserve the highest-profile names, which can only be claimed by their legitimate owners, and withhold lookalike derivatives of known names to protect against impersonation.<\/p>\n<p>Governments increasingly expect digital platforms to share responsibility for reducing harm, Bhattacharya said, but added that it is difficult \u201cto draw the line between legitimate regulation and measures that could discourage innovation or weaken user privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The government oversight of WhatsApp\u2019s username feature comes just weeks after India temporarily banned Telegram to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/06\/16\/indias-solution-to-entrance-exam-fraud-a-temporary-ban-on-telegram.html\">prevent exam fraud<\/a>\u00a0during a crucial national test.<\/p>\n<p>The government said that the platform hosted several channels that made false claims to have leaked test papers and then demanded money from candidates and their families for access. Telegram responded that the move punished \u201c150 million ordinary users of the app\u201d in India, and not those who leaked the exam material.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/07\/02\/meta-whatsapp-usernames-scams-india.html\">Read the Full Story Here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source: CNBC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. social media giant\u00a0Meta Platforms\u00a0has defended the rollout of usernames on its messaging platform, after the Indian government on Wednesday said the move could lead to a rise in cybercrime. \u201cUsers still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we\u2019ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,\u201d a Meta spokesperson told CNBC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. social media giant\u00a0Meta Platforms\u00a0has defended the rollout of usernames on its messaging platform, after the Indian government on Wednesday said the move could lead to a rise in cybercrime. \u201cUsers still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we\u2019ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,\u201d a Meta spokesperson told CNBC [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TSFactoryLLC\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-05T15:30:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chelsie Wyatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TSFactoryLLC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TSFactoryLLC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chelsie Wyatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/\",\"name\":\"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T15:30:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/9d9908f0e12559297335ebe9b601c82f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/\",\"name\":\"Community\",\"description\":\"TSFactory\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/9d9908f0e12559297335ebe9b601c82f\",\"name\":\"Chelsie Wyatt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ff3801fb7566acf715fe4e81a9bd942b923c236138a3ed8a8375f099e5d6d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ff3801fb7566acf715fe4e81a9bd942b923c236138a3ed8a8375f099e5d6d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chelsie Wyatt\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/author\/chelsie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community","og_description":"U.S. social media giant\u00a0Meta Platforms\u00a0has defended the rollout of usernames on its messaging platform, after the Indian government on Wednesday said the move could lead to a rise in cybercrime. \u201cUsers still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we\u2019ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,\u201d a Meta spokesperson told CNBC [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/","og_site_name":"Community","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TSFactoryLLC\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-05T15:30:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chelsie Wyatt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TSFactoryLLC","twitter_site":"@TSFactoryLLC","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chelsie Wyatt","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/","name":"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks - Community","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-05T15:30:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/9d9908f0e12559297335ebe9b601c82f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whatsapp.jpg","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/asia-pacific-news-meta-says-whatsapp-usernames-are-safeguarded-against-scams-after-india-flags-cybersecurity-risks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia-Pacific News Meta says WhatsApp usernames are safeguarded against scams after India flags cybersecurity risks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/","name":"Community","description":"TSFactory","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/9d9908f0e12559297335ebe9b601c82f","name":"Chelsie Wyatt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ff3801fb7566acf715fe4e81a9bd942b923c236138a3ed8a8375f099e5d6d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ff3801fb7566acf715fe4e81a9bd942b923c236138a3ed8a8375f099e5d6d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chelsie Wyatt"},"url":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/blog\/author\/chelsie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1930,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions\/1930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsfactory.com\/forums\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}