It’s been a couple of years since rumours first emerged that Meta was working on bringing usernames to WhatsApp. Now, the company says the feature will officially launch later this year.

Ahead of the rollout, WhatsApp is allowing users to reserve their usernames. “Starting this week, you can reserve a username to use later this year when we launch the feature,” the company said in an X post on Monday evening.

This means users can reserve the username they want, although certain usernames belonging to public figures, celebrities, and organisations have already been reserved by WhatsApp to prevent impersonation.

The company also says it’s introducing reservations early because it has a user base of more than 3 billion people, and allowing users to reserve usernames in advance will help reduce conflicts over username availability.

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TechloyEmmanuel Umahi

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