- There are reports of problems with impersonating a WhatsApp username
- WhatsApp and Meta say popular names are reserved
- India wants to see the rollout of username reservations paused
WhatsApp is launching a username feature later this year to let you add contacts without revealing your phone number – but while handle reservations have gone live for many users, there are reports that username impersonation is already a problem.
According to tests conducted by TechCrunch, usernames similar to Indian politicians, celebrities, business figures and public institutions are available. They include ‘indiamodi’ (for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and ‘shahrukh.actor’ for Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
This focus on India is because the authorities in the country have already asked WhatsApp to put a pause on username reservations. As per The BBC, the Indian government suggests that WhatsApp usernames could “increase cybercrime” such as online fraud and phishing scams – already major concerns in the country.
The idea is that usernames can allow scammers to operate without revealing their numbers (which can be picked up on blacklists). If these scammers also impersonate well-known figures, the problems are compounded.
Get in line
Username reservations are here as more and more people claim theirs, here are the answers to the most popular questions you ask ⬇️Q: Are usernames mandatory?A: No, they are optional.Q: What if the username I want isn’t available?A: There are a few reasons why you might not be able to…1 July 2026
WhatsApp saw this coming. When the feature was announced, it said that celebrity handles would be reserved for those people — including usernames for politicians, VIPs and other celebrities.
“People make false claims to reserve popular or well-known usernames,” WhatsApp says. “This is not true, only the legitimate account owners are able to reserve well-known public names.” The same line was echoed by WhatsApp owner Meta when contacted by TechCrunch.
However, it is not clear how many variations of famous names and identities are covered by this block. It seems that with enough imagination, working alternatives can be found – but of course, when you start falling into different spellings, numbers and extra words, the username impersonation becomes less convincing.
It’s a challenge that all social platforms have to deal with, including the Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook. With WhatsApp, however, the connection is more direct and the potential scams are more plausible – which could affect the feature’s rollout worldwide.
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