October 25th 2024.
This latest update to the app is one of the biggest since its launch back in 2009. WhatsApp is now on the verge of making the whole process of asking someone for their phone number obsolete, although not entirely. With over 2.5 billion people using the app regularly all over the world, it has become a preferred medium for texting, making calls, and even sending voice notes that can go on for hours. And now, the parent company of Facebook, Meta, has announced that WhatsApp will soon move away from using phone numbers and instead use usernames as a means of adding contacts.
In simpler terms, adding someone on WhatsApp will be similar to following someone on X or Instagram. This means you no longer have to share your personal phone number for someone to be able to message you, which provides an added layer of privacy. For instance, if someone adds you to a group chat, the other members of the conversation will not have access to your phone number, but only your username. This change will make adding contacts on the app feel more like following someone on Instagram. While Meta has not provided an exact date for when the username feature will be available, the first step will be to allow users to add new contacts across all their devices.
Since its inception in 2009, WhatsApp has had limited options for adding contacts. As Meta stated in a recent blog post, the app only allowed you to see which of your friends and family were on WhatsApp and easily message or call them. However, this also meant that if you lost your phone, you would also lose your contact list. The app lacked the ability to store contacts in a way that could be automatically restored in such a situation. Furthermore, the only way to add contacts was through your mobile device by manually typing in their phone number or scanning a QR code.
But all this is about to change as the app will now be better synced across all devices. Users will soon have the option to add contacts on WhatsApp Web, Windows, and eventually on other linked devices, as stated by the app. This means that if you add someone on WhatsApp using your computer, it will automatically be synced with their phone. This update is especially good news for those who have lost their phone or had it stolen, as restoring contacts will now be much easier.
Apart from these changes, users will also be able to add contacts exclusively on WhatsApp. Currently, the app relies on the address book managed by the phone's operating system. However, with the new update, WhatsApp contacts can be added separately, making it easier to separate personal and business contacts, or when managing multiple WhatsApp accounts on the same phone.
WhatsApp has been rolling out several updates recently, including group video calls, image searches, and draft messages, among others. While some updates have been well-received, others have faced criticism. In June, parts of the app turned green to improve the user experience, which led one user to delete the app entirely. Let's hope the upcoming username update will have a better reaction.
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