WhatsApp Adds Username Keys on Android to Combat Spam

WhatsApp seems to be working on a new feature for its Android app that offers a number of privacy advantages. This feature, known as dubbed username keys, is divided into two sections, according to a WhatsApp tracker. The username itself is the first component, which is supposed to take the place of giving a person’s phone number when sharing their WhatsApp account. The second is username keys, which are supposed to let users control whether or not a new texter can get in touch with them. Separately, the business is reportedly bringing Meta AI’s real-time voice chat functionality to the iOS app.

WhatsApp is creating username keys to make it simpler to control whether or not a stranger can text users, according to WABetaInfo, a feature tracker for WhatsApp. The new functionality, which was initially noticed in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.22.9 update, is not yet accessible to the platform’s beta testers.

WhatsApp’s Android app is creating usernames for users based on the feature tracker’s shared photographs. This will eliminate the requirement for users to submit their phone numbers when sharing their accounts. In this manner, they can easily reveal their username if they want someone to SMS them on the app. Similar to Telegram, this software allows users to locate other users and text them using their usernames.

Essentially, users will also be able to set up a four-digit PIN code, this is a login key functions similarly to a digital passcode called a username key on the instant messaging platform. When enabled, this secret key must also be entered by anyone wishing to ask someone to send a message for the first time, a user must provide both their username and the key when they set it up, according to the screenshot. This implies that even though they have the user’s username, anyone without this key will not be able to text them. Those who already have the user’s phone number or are in a chat with them are reportedly unaffected by this function. It’s a quick and easy method to stop unsolicited messages from anyone who might know your login.

This is particularly important since WhatsApp is progressively allowing users to join using usernames instead than sharing actual phone numbers. That’s easy, but it also allows unsolicited messages, which is what the login key is designed to prevent.

The way this feature works, users must first set their own key, which is a unique code that functions as a filter, in order to utilise the feature. A conversation can only be started by someone who knows the key. As a result, you can disclose your login with confidence and not be concerned about strangers bombarding your email.

WhatsApp is not pressuring users to use the function if they would rather communicate openly. It is completely voluntary. Anyone with your username can message you without restriction if you decide not to set a username key at all.

In another separate report, WABetaInfo stated that the platform’s iOS app will soon provide real-time audio chat. The feature tracker noticed the ability to start two-way voice conversations with the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 25.21.10.76. Notably, the company’s Android app had this capability before. In the coming weeks, voice conversation with Meta AI might be made available to all iOS users.

As this is still in it development phase, there is currently no official indication on when the username key will be made available to users. The final version might have a slightly different appearance or more changes before being public, as is the case with many beta features.

Nevertheless, it’s a positive move in allowing users to set their own communication limits and another indication that WhatsApp is taking user privacy more seriously in a world where people are becoming more interconnected.