Big update on WhatsApp Username feature, government gives new ultimatum to Meta, will have to answer by July 9

WhatsApp New Update: Username feature in WhatsApp was in the news these days and due to the ongoing dispute between the Government of India and Meta, people were continuously talking about it. In this matter, earlier the company was asked to present its side within three days, but now the government has extended the deadline for reply to July 9. In which the government is deeply investigating the potential threat of security, cyber fraud and fake identity related to this new feature.

For information, let us tell you that according to government sources, an important meeting has been held on this issue between officials of Meta and the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). Now the company will have to submit a detailed written reply on the basis of which further decisions will be taken. According to reports, the government has asked WhatsApp’s parent company Meta to stop username reservation updates.

An important meeting between the government and Meta

It is seen that recently WhatsApp had announced its new Username feature. After the introduction of this feature, users can in many cases start chatting with other people even without sharing their mobile number. Regarding which Meta claims that this will make the privacy of the users stronger than before and there will be less need to share the number with unknown people.

Why is the government worried about cyber fraud?

But the government’s concern regarding this special feature is more on security than privacy. In which officials believe that if it becomes easier to contact by hiding the identity, then incidents like online fraud, phishing and cheating by creating fake identities may increase. Due to this apprehension, the government had last week asked Meta to stop the rollout of this feature and provide complete information about it.

Now Meta says that the Username feature will be completely optional and the mobile number will remain mandatory to create a WhatsApp account as before. According to the company, to talk to a person, it will be necessary to know his correct Username and many security layers have also been added to prevent scams.

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All eyes fixed on the decision of 9th July

According to the information coming in now, the government is not completely satisfied with Meta’s claims. Officials say misuse of the username-based system on platforms like Telegram has been seen in many cyber crimes. In such a situation, such apprehensions cannot be ignored even on WhatsApp. India is the biggest market of WhatsApp where more than 80 crore users use this platform. In such a situation, Meta’s response on July 9 will not only decide the launch of this feature in India but can also impact the direction of its global rollout.