WhatsApp will soon undergo one of its biggest changes in years. Users will now be able to chat via a unique username, without having to share their telephone number. The update applies to private users as well as companies, cities and municipalities.
Journalist at HLN
By introducing usernames, organizations can now easily be found by name in WhatsApp. Users can start a conversation directly without first looking up or saving a telephone number.
According to the Ghent start-up ‘Get In Touch’, specialized in AI customer communication via WhatsApp, the update represents an important step in the evolution of the app. Today the company already works for clients such as BOIC (Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee), RSC Anderlecht, Dewaele Vastgoed and various cities and municipalities.
“WhatsApp is increasingly evolving from a personal messaging channel to a fully-fledged professional communication platform,” says co-founder Els Peeters. “Usernames make it much easier to find and contact an organization, city or municipality,” says Peeters.
Most popular communication channel
WhatsApp is today the most popular communication channel in Belgium. According to the most recent Digimeter study by imec, nine out of ten Belgians actively use the app. WhatsApp is also used more often every day than Instagram and Facebook combined. The platform also remains very popular among young people between 18 and 35 years old.
More privacy for users
The new usernames also bring important technical changes. WhatsApp is gradually switching from phone numbers to unique user IDs. This should strengthen the privacy of users, because their mobile number will no longer automatically be visible in conversations. For companies and organizations, this also means that they will have to identify customers more explicitly and link them to their own systems, in line with the European GDPR rules.
Meta reserves billions of usernames
Meta has already reserved more than three billion usernames for governments, political bodies and verified accounts, among others. From the end of June, organizations can claim their unique username or create a new one. The Ghent start-up also supports these companies with registration.