Digital insight: WhatsApp username: These are the advantages and disadvantages

WhatsApp is introducing usernames so that users can optionally hide their phone number from others - i.e. from people who should not know their own phone number. Initially, however, the names can only be reserved, and the actual introduction is expected to start sometime in the coming months. Users who have reserved a name will receive a notification in the app as soon as the username feature is activated.

You are still unsure whether you should reserve a username or not? No problem: Usernames are optional, and no one has to reserve or use them. There is enough time to think about it thoroughly.

The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Protection Center has weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of such a name:

Advantages at a glance:

* Reduced visibility of your own mobile phone number in groups.

* No requirement for a real name when choosing the username: If a pseudonym is chosen as the name, it will be displayed instead of the phone number.

* For contacts who already have your number stored in their smartphone and know it, nothing changes.

* For strangers who will no longer be able to see your number thanks to a username, the potential for abuse - such as sending fraudulent SMS or luring people into fraudulent groups - is eliminated.

Disadvantages at a glance:

* Visibility to WhatsApp remains: Providing your mobile phone number is still a requirement for a WhatsApp account.

* You are not anonymous to WhatsApp and the US operator group Meta with a username.

* Overall, even more and personally related data could be obtained for Meta: Therefore, it is better to choose a pseudonym as a username and not your real first and/or last name.

* There is a risk of cross-platform profile formation if usernames from Instagram and Facebook are transferred to WhatsApp, as offered by Meta.

* This links the messenger account with your own accounts on the other Meta services and makes cross-platform tracking easier for the group.

If usernames, then with a key

If you decide on a username for WhatsApp, the consumer protectionists recommend setting up the so-called username key in any case. This is a PIN code for sharing. You can define and control who can contact you via the username by sharing it.

Otherwise, the following applies when selecting a username:

It must be at least 3 and at most 35 characters long.

It can consist of lowercase letters (a to z), numbers, underscores, and dots.

It must not consist only of digits.