WhatsApp to let people chat without swapping phone numbers

- WhatsApp is the world's most popular messaging app, owned by Meta (Facebook). It is heavily used in many countries as a primary communication tool for personal chats, group coordination, and even business inquiries. - Until now, sharing your WhatsApp contact info meant sharing your actual phone number — a privacy concern that makes people hesitant to connect with strangers, colleagues, or businesses. - This update introduces "usernames" (similar to Telegram or Signal), allowing users to start conversations without revealing their phone number. It's a major shift for the app, which has always tied identity to a SIM card number. - The change is part of a broader push by Meta to make WhatsApp more competitive with apps like Telegram and Signal, which already offer username-based contact. It also supports WhatsApp's growing role in commerce and customer service, where businesses want to chat without giving every customer their personal phone line.