WhatsApp username reservations open as BSUID rollout begins

WhatsApp has started letting users reserve usernames now, ahead of a broader launch later this year, while business operators face a separate change under the hood: the WhatsApp Business Platform is moving to BSUIDs in webhooks and send logic. The reservation path is already appearing in-app by country, and the rollout is gradual, which means teams running WhatsApp workflows need to plan for both consumer username adoption and cases where phone numbers are no longer present in the data they receive.

Username reservations open before the full rollout

Reservations are available on the latest version of WhatsApp through Settings > Account > Username. WhatsApp says it is opening that step early because the app has more than 3 billion users, which makes handle overlap likely enough to matter before the full launch lands. The practical result is straightforward: users can claim a name now, while the broader username rollout is still to come later this year.

WhatsApp has also said notifications will roll out country by country inside the app. That keeps the launch staggered rather than simultaneous, so some users will see the reservation option before others. For operators, that matters because user adoption will not arrive all at once, but the reservation window is open before the feature is widely live.

Phone numbers stay hidden on first contact

The consumer side of the feature is built around privacy. Once a user adopts a username, other people can reach them by exact username instead of phone number, and first-time messages can avoid exposing the phone number when username sharing is enabled. That shifts the default first interaction away from the mobile number that WhatsApp has traditionally used as the account identifier.

The feature is optional for consumers, not a forced account change. That distinction matters for anyone used to treating a WhatsApp number as the only stable way to identify a person. Business usernames are separate again: they remain tied to a phone number, are searchable by exact match, and do not hide the business phone number.

BSUID changes the business integration layer

For WhatsApp Business Platform users, the bigger change is operational. WhatsApp is introducing BSUID, also referred to as B Suite, as a backend identifier that shows up in webhooks and replaces phone-number dependence in system logic. Meta says business integrations need to update webhook parsing and databases because WA ID may be missing for username adopters, while the user ID field carries the new backend identifier.

Phone numbers will still appear in some cases. They remain visible when a user has not adopted a username, when the person is already stored in a business contact book, or during a rolling 30-day window after a prior phone-number interaction. WhatsApp is also adding a request-contact-info flow for templates and interactive messages, so businesses can ask natively for a phone number when they need it for CRM, compliance, or other workflow reasons.

Rollout timing and the migration window

The business-side rollout is already moving. Real BSUIDs started appearing in webhooks in early April 2026, API sends to BSUIDs were supported in May 2026, and users in some countries can begin adopting usernames later in June 2026. That gives businesses a short migration window to make sure webhook consumers, routing logic, and storage can handle both older phone-number-based records and the newer identifier flow.

Some parts of the rollout are still not fully clear, including which countries have live user adoption at this stage and how broad the webhook impact will be across all event types. If your WhatsApp stack uses phone numbers for dedupe, routing, or record matching, it needs to be ready for a system where that number is not always the primary field.

Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI. Images are for illustrative purposes only.