WhatsApp to receive usernames with PIN protection
The current beta version of WhatsApp allows usernames instead of phone numbers and protects against unwanted contacts with a PIN.
(Image: heise online)
The developers of WhatsApp are working on improved privacy. In the current beta version, usernames can be used instead of phone numbers and these can still be protected with a PIN.
On the website wabetainfo.com, the authors explain that the programmers have been working on a privacy-friendly username option since May 2023. Users will then be able to choose a unique and easy-to-remember username that will be displayed instead of their phone number. This will allow contacts to be made without them receiving the phone number. In the beta version 2.24.18.2 that has now been released, the developers have gone one better.
(Image:Â wabetainfo.com)
In addition to entering a user name, the beta version also allows a PIN to be set. If interested parties activate this optional feature, new contacts with whom no previous interactions have taken place must first enter the set PIN before they can send a message. This PIN is not the same as the one WhatsApp already offers to protect the app. This provides protection against unauthorized access to the WhatsApp user name via other channels. However, contacts with existing conversations do not have to enter the PIN if it has been set subsequently.
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It is unclear when the function will be released from beta status and become available to everyone. The WhatsApp team has been developing the username instead of phone number option for over a year.
Usernames instead of phone numbers already available elsewhere
Since March of this year, a similar privacy protection option has been available to everyone in the messenger Signal, for example. The user name there consists of a selectable word and a number of at least two digits connected with a dot.
In the Signal settings, you can choose whether you want your phone number to be visible to others and whether you want it to be traceable. By default, the option is set to "invisible". Anyone who has the phone number in their contacts will still be able to see Signal users. Testing and development began at Signal in November 2023, with the beta test lasting just two weeks until the gradual release to everyone.
(dmk)
