Kathmandu. The Indian government has asked Meta to stop implementing WhatsApp’s username feature, citing concerns over the rise in cybercrime caused by online fraud and fake identities.

According to Indian media reports, the government has requested in the letter not to make the facility public until necessary consultations are completed.

On Monday, Meta announced that it will roll out a new feature around the world that allows users to contact each other without revealing their phone number and using a separate username. In India, the government is worried that fraudsters can mislead users by creating fake identities.

In a letter sent to Meta, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said that the new features could increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrests and the use of fake identities. According to a government official, users with technical knowledge are at a higher risk of being duped by fake usernames.

India is WhatsApp’s largest market. There are more than 500 million users in India. Cyber fraud has been increasing rapidly in the country in recent years. According to government data, in 2025, Indian citizens lost about $3 billion due to cyber fraud. This is almost 40 times more than in 2021.

Meta has clarified that the feature has not yet been rolled out in India. According to the company, the usernames of public figures and verified accounts are already protected, which reduces the risk of fake identity use. In addition, a phone number is mandatory for using a username and a multi-layered security mechanism has been incorporated to prevent fraud.

Meanwhile, Meta last month appointed Indian fintech entrepreneur Kunal Shah as the new head of WhatsApp. China’s Tencent-owned WeChat already has a username feature.