India tells WhatsApp to halt usernames rollout, justify feature or face action

India has asked WhatsApp to justify the implementation of a planned feature covering usernames and to freeze the rollout in its biggest market, ‌escalating a crackdown on ⁠messaging ⁠anonymity that began with Telegram, according to a government letter reviewed by Reuters.

Earlier this week, Meta’s WhatsApp said it had begun a phased global rollout, including in India, of the feature, which lets users reserve a unique username and eventually message others without sharing their phone numbers.