WhatsApp is finally closing the privacy gap with rivals Telegram and Signal: code discovered in the latest iOS ‘TestFlight’ build shows the Meta-owned messenger is building a full username system. Strings spotted by WABetaInfo reveal that every account will soon be able to claim a unique handle made of lowercase letters, numbers, periods or underscores—so long as it contains at least one letter and doesn’t start with “www.”

Once live, users who message you without having your phone number will only see the chosen handle. WhatsApp will celebrate a valid claim with a burst of on-screen confetti, and the handle will replace your number in one-to-one and group chats. Changing it later triggers an automatic system alert in existing conversations, similar to the notifications already sent when you update your profile photo or switch numbers.

A companion update for WhatsApp Web will let people check availability before committing, reducing the land-grab scramble for coveted names. Although the feature is still hidden even from beta testers, its presence in production code—and last week’s launch of the long-awaited iPad app—suggest a public rollout could arrive within months. Meta has yet to comment on timing or regional availability.

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