[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-whatsapp-lets-users-reserve-usernames-to-hide-phone-numbers":10,"sections":48},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":24,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":25,"tags":26,"sources":31,"feedback":47,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":47,"total_tokens":47},2398,"whatsapp-lets-users-reserve-usernames-to-hide-phone-numbers","WhatsApp Lets Users Reserve Usernames to Hide Phone Numbers","WhatsApp is opening username reservations today, letting its three billion users connect without exposing their phone number for the first time.","WhatsApp will let users reserve a username starting today, removing the phone number as the default contact identifier for the first time in the app's history.\n\nThe feature, years in the making, begins reservation sign-ups now and rolls out fully later this year. Accounts will still require a phone number to create, but once a username is set, that number no longer needs to be shared to start a conversation. More than three billion users are eligible.\n\nThis matters because WhatsApp has long positioned itself as a privacy-first messenger while quietly making your phone number the price of admission for every new contact. A username layer finally closes that gap — your number stays yours even if you talk to strangers, journalists, or anyone else you would rather not hand a direct line to.\n\nSignal has offered phone-number-free contact discovery since 2022, so WhatsApp is playing catch-up here, not pioneering. Whether Meta actually delivers the full rollout on the vague \"later this year\" timeline is the thing worth watching.","[\"whatsapp\",\"privacy\",\"messaging\",\"meta\"]","2026-06-29T16:39:41.000Z","2026-06-29T18:01:20.296Z","2026-06-29T18:01:29.641Z","published",null,[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.xyz.onl\u002Farticle-images\u002Fwhatsapp-lets-users-reserve-usernames-to-hide-phone-numbers.webp","software",[27,28,29,30],"whatsapp","privacy","messaging","meta",[32,35,38,41,44],{"name":33,"url":34},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fwhatsapp-usernames-reserve-phone-number-privacy",{"name":36,"url":37},"Digital Trends","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digitaltrends.com\u002Fphones\u002Fwhatsapp-is-finally-getting-usernames-and-you-should-go-reserve-yours-right-now\u002F",{"name":39,"url":40},"Lifehacker","https:\u002F\u002Flifehacker.com\u002Ftech\u002Fwhatsapp-username-update?utm_medium=RSS",{"name":42,"url":43},"Mashable","https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002Ftech\u002Fwhatsapp-opens-username-registration-how-to-reserve",{"name":45,"url":46},"MacRumors","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.macrumors.com\u002F2026\u002F06\u002F29\u002Fwhatsapp-username-reservations\u002F",0,{"sections":49},[50,55,60,65,70,75,80,84,89,94,99,103,108,113],{"name":51,"slug":52,"count":53,"latest_published_at":54},"AI","ai",2590,"2026-07-16T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Security","security",294,"2026-07-15T19:59:48.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Policy","policy",158,"2026-07-16T00:02:48.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Hardware","hardware",122,"2026-07-14T19:46:26.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",93,"2026-07-13T13:20:48.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":25,"count":82,"latest_published_at":83},"Software",70,"2026-07-13T19:52:25.000Z",{"name":85,"slug":86,"count":87,"latest_published_at":88},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",59,"2026-07-07T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":97,"latest_published_at":102},"Startups","startups","2026-06-29T20:55:50.000Z",{"name":104,"slug":105,"count":106,"latest_published_at":107},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":109,"slug":110,"count":111,"latest_published_at":112},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":114,"slug":115,"count":116,"latest_published_at":117},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]