WhatsApp Brings New Update to Replace Phone Numbers with Usernames

The company has said repeatedly that its aim is to allow WhatsApp conversations to feel like real life, with the privacy and temporary nature that brings. Other related features have included the option to delete messages and edit them after they are sent.

Throughout all those changes, however, WhatsApp has always used the phone number as a way of creating and verifying accounts, as well as finding other people on the app. 

As such, it has meant giving up your phone number in order to talk to anyone, including businesses who may abuse it with spam calls or other marketing.