The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has sent notices to messaging platforms Telegram and Signal, asking them to explain the safeguards of their 'username' feature against impersonation and misuse. This follows a similar notice issued to Meta earlier this week regarding the rollout of usernames on WhatsApp in India.
Government Concerns Over Username Feature
The Centre's notice to Meta, dated July 2, 2026, expressed that the username feature may increase online fraud, phishing, and digital arrest scams. The government stated that the feature could enable impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies, by allowing adoption of usernames closely resembling genuine entities.
According to Meta, a username is an optional unique identifier starting with '@' (e.g., @Name123) that allows others to message or call while keeping the phone number private.
Regulatory Action Threatened
The Centre directed Meta to provide a detailed explanation within three days and not to roll out the feature until satisfactory consultation with the government. The notice warned of regulatory action under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Telegram recently faced a week-long ban in India ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination in June 2026.
WhatsApp's Response
A WhatsApp spokesperson stated that the username feature is not yet live and will roll out slowly later this year. They added that they have built multiple layers of defence against scams, including holding high-profile names (public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts) so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners, and lookalike derivatives are also held.
The spokesperson said: "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."
