New Delhi [India] July 2 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia raised concerns over potential impersonation following WhatsApp's rollout of username features, stating that multiple variations of his name combined with 'AAP' appeared to have already been reserved.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Sisodia said he attempted to reserve his username but found that several combinations linked to his name were unavailable.
"With WhatsApp rolling out usernames, I tried to reserve mine today. I completely understand that 'Manish Sisodia' is not a unique name, so it's quite possible that many versions of my name have already been taken," he said.
He further said that most variations, including 'AAP' alongside his name,A appeared to have already been taken.
"But what surprised me is that almost every variation using my name along with 'AAP' also seems to have been reserved--for example, Manish.Sisodia.AAP, Manish_Sisodia_AAP, ManishSisodiaAAP, and several similar combinations," he said.
The AAP leader said the issue raises concerns about impersonation and the possibility of misleading users.
"As far as I know, there isn't another Manish Sisodia associated with AAP. If someone else has reserved these usernames, it raises a genuine concern about impersonation and the possibility of misleading people. I urge @WhatsApp and @Meta to look into this and introduce a proper verification and grievance mechanism so that public identities cannot be misused and users are protected from impersonation," he added.
Meanwhile, hours after the government issued a notice to Meta-owned WhatsApp over the proposed rollout of the 'username feature', the messaging service platform claimed they have built "multiple layers of defence against scams".
The government has asked Meta not to roll out the feature until satisfactory consultation.
WhatsApp spokesperson on Wednesday said they have announced the option for people to reserve their preferred username on the platform. "The ability to use a username is not yet live and will roll out slowly later this year. 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," the statement said.
"Users still require a phone number to use WhatsApp and we've built multiple layers of defence against scams into usernames: Other users need to know the exact username to message you, we will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone's username key, and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns," the statement added.
The spokesperson said that when the feature becomes available and "someone sends you a message for the first time via your username, we will show you if they're a new account, if they're your contact, if you have groups in common, and if they're based in a different country, so you can decide whether to respond".
The Centre expressed concern, saying that the "usernames" feature may enable "impersonation and identity spoofing," and asked Meta to furnish a detailed explanation within three days.