India asks WhatsApp to pause username feature rollout(bbc.com)
bbc.com
India asks WhatsApp to pause username feature rollout
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg8e0n9l41o
2 comments
I had a feeling this wasn't too well thought through.
It makes it easy to claim another person's identity, while at the same time, well-known people likely wouldn't want a username that makes them easily approachable to strangers that otherwise woudln't have their number.
I am not a known person but I still have no incentive to pick a username. Someone wants my number, I'll give it to them.
For a medium like Twitter, usernames are an obvious feature. For DMs that were previously number based, not necessarily.
It makes it easy to claim another person's identity, while at the same time, well-known people likely wouldn't want a username that makes them easily approachable to strangers that otherwise woudln't have their number.
I am not a known person but I still have no incentive to pick a username. Someone wants my number, I'll give it to them.
For a medium like Twitter, usernames are an obvious feature. For DMs that were previously number based, not necessarily.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn074j04l3eo