Sources said that in the notice to Telegram, the government has asked the platform why it should be allowed to retain the username feature, adding that similar action could be taken with all such platforms that have ‘username’ feature. | Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic

New Delhi, July 2: After sending notice to instant messaging app WhatsApp, the Centre on Thursday has also sent notices to Telegram and Signal, raising questions on their existing username feature, and asking how the platforms are addressing concerns related to fraud and impersonation.

Sources said that in the notice to Telegram, the government has asked the platform why it should be allowed to retain the username feature, adding that similar action could be taken with all such platforms that have ‘username’ feature.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp on Thursday has said that username reservation relating to well-known public figures is restricted only to their legitimate account owners, and any claims that people are reserving popular or well-known usernames are “false”. Sources in the government said that it has now sent notices to Telegram and Signal too, raising questions on their existing username feature, and asking how the platforms are addressing concerns related to fraud and impersonation.

Through a FAQs, the company said usernames will be optional, cannot be searched by strangers, and users can add an additional ‘username key’ requiring both the username and the key before someone can contact them.

Identity Concerns

“A few more things to keep in mind...People are making false claims about reserving popular or well-known usernames - this isn’t true, only the legitimate account owners are able to reserve well-known public-figure names,” it said.

India is a key market for WhatsApp, and the go-to messaging platform has over 500 million users here.

On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to its parent company Meta over the planned feature on WhatsApp, citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. It directed the platform to pause the feature until consultations on the issue are completed “to the satisfaction of the government”.

Already Taken

WhatsApp’s proposed username feature has also raised a red flag among experts and users too, who believed the new offering could trigger a surge in impersonation, spoofing, and financial fraud.

Former Delhi deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia also put out a post on X expressing his surprise that “almost every variation” of his own name, along with his party, AAP, seemed to have already been reserved.

However, WhatsApp through a statement defended the feature, citing built-in safeguards to prevent scams and impersonations and protect users.

“To protect against impersonation, we’ve held the highest-profile names - think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts - so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

Published on July 2, 2026