Username reservations are here, as more and more people claim theirs, hereโs answers to the top questions youโre asking โฌ๏ธ
Q: Are usernames mandatory?
A: Nope, they are optional.
Q: What if the username I want isnโt available?
A: Thereโs a few reasons you might not be able to reserve the username you want:
1) Itโs an existing Instagram or Facebook username; these are reserved for their owners.
2) Weโve held well-known names and some variations of them - like public figures, celebrities, government entities and Meta-verified accounts - so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners. If you try to reserve those, the system will say itโs not available.
3) Someone already claimed a common name, in that case use the username generator.
Q: What if someone creates a username similar to mine to impersonate me or run a scam, how do you stop someone from pretending to be me?
A: Usernames are not available for messaging yet. When they are, and you get a message from someone new, weโll let you know the country origin, and a warning for first time outreach. Well-known public-figure names and their variations are held for verified owners. Weโre also keeping a close eye on blocks and reports to take action against scammers.
Q: Can random people message me if they know or guess my username?
A: Just like you canโt search for a phone number in WhatsApp, you canโt search for a username. The best way to prevent someone from contacting you is to add a username key and to choose a username that is unique to WhatsApp.
All the current measures remain in place to prevent unwanted contact, including warnings with details about unknown senders (whether they're a new account, if you share groups, what country they're in) and the ability to block and report.
Q: What is a username key?
A: An extra layer of protection you can enable with your username, so that another user will have to know both your username and your username key to contact you. You can reset your key at any time to stop new inbound contact through your username.
Q: Do I have to link my other Meta accounts?
A: If you want the same username as your Instagram or Facebook account, youโll have to link them. This one of the ways to reduce impersonation and to make sure youโre the legitimate owner of the account. But after that, you can unlink the account if you want, or you can choose a username unique to WhatsApp.
Q: Can I change my username later?
A: Yes, as long as the new one you want is available.
A few more things to keep in mind...
People are making false claims about reserving popular or well-known usernames - this isn't true, only the legitimate account owners are able to reserve well-known public-figure names.
We enabled reservations before usernames launch later this year because we think people will feel strongly about what username they want on WhatsApp. Weโre taking our time and listening to feedback so that when it rolls out later this year we get it right.
your phone number is personal and sometimes you want to connect without handing it over. that's why we're introducing usernames for WhatsApp.
starting this week, you can reserve a username to use later this year when we launch the feature. It takes just a few seconds, make sure you have the latest version of WhatsApp and then go to Settings > Account > Username.
We should not behave like the proverbial vulture that says it will repair its roof after the rains, only to forget about it once the weather clears - Pres. Mahama
A Croatian supporter asked if we could swap jerseys because he loved my Ghana ๐ฌ๐ญ shirt. Of course I said yes ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ค๐ญ๐ท
A special World Cup moment, exchanging jerseys from the stands. Football truly brings people together. โค๏ธ
9/10 African nations at the 2026 World Cup have advanced to the knockouts.
Incredible ๐๐จ๐ป๐ธ๐ณ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฟ๐ช๐ฌ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฟ๐ฆ
Historical World Cup for African teams. ๐โ๐ฟ
โ ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa
โ ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde
โ ๐จ๐ฎ Ivory Coast
โ ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco
โ ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal
โ ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana
โ ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt
โ ๐จ๐ฉ RD Congo
โ ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria
โ๐น๐ณ Tunisia
9๏ธโฃ/๐ teams have qualified to World Cup Round of 32 ๐๐พโจ
๐๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ๐ญ๐ท๐ฌ๐ญ OFFICIAL: England, Croatia and Ghana fly to World Cup Round of 32! โ๏ธ
Panama are eliminated. โ๐ต๐ฆ