From 29 June, WhatsApp is letting businesses reserve usernames as it moves identity away from phone numbers. Claiming your handle is a five-minute job that stops a future impersonation headache.
A username is cheap to claim today and expensive to fight over later.
WhatsApp is separating your identity from your phone number, and for once the smart move is boring admin. From 29 June, businesses can start reserving usernames. Claim yours before someone else does.
Meta has begun rolling out usernames on WhatsApp, part of a wider privacy shift away from phone numbers. Usernames run 3 to 35 characters, must include at least one letter and allow only lowercase letters, numbers, periods and underscores. They cannot start with "www" or end in things like ".com", a deliberate move to cut impersonation. Businesses can reserve a handle based on their existing WhatsApp Display Name, Official Business Account, Meta Verified name or their Facebook and Instagram business handles. Accounts on the WhatsApp Business API can claim usernames now, and Meta is reserving names for well-known brands and organisations to stop squatters.
Why it matters
WhatsApp is a serious business channel in many markets and a growing one in Australia. When identity moves from a number to a handle, the handle becomes brand real estate, the same way your social handles did. Grab it early and you protect the brand and set up cleaner, number-free customer messaging. Leave it and you risk impersonation or a scramble to reclaim your own name.
The character range for a WhatsApp username, lowercase letters, numbers, periods and underscores only
What to do about it
This is a five-minute job that saves a future headache. Do the boring thing first.