WhatsApp usernames: Why Somalia fears they will pose a security risk

Somalia’s government has told the BBC it is concerned about WhatsApp’s plan to launch a new feature that would let people chat using usernames rather than phone numbers, saying it could pose a security risk.

Communications and Technology Minister Ahmed Osman Dirie said it could make it harder to trace and counter criminals in a country that is still battling Islamist militants.

The rollout to three billion global users of WhatsApp worldwide is expected in the coming months, allowing people to remove or change their usernames at any time.

Somalia has been hit by a brutal and deadly insurgency – led by al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate – for more than two decades.

In response to Somalia’s concerns, WhatsApp told the BBC that the feature was not yet live, and users would still need a phone number to use the app. It further stated that the feature comes with built-in safeguards against scams.

But Dirie told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast that the Somali government had approached Meta, which owns WhatsApp, about their concerns and hoped that “we’ll reach a resolution on this matter very soon”.

He pointed out that Somalia had a “unique context”, with an economy that heavily relies on mobile money transactions.

“Unverified and untraceable usernames” introduced the risk of financial fraud and citizens becoming vulnerable to scammers, he said.

Al-Shabab militants have also been known to use WhatsApp for their operations, including for extortion and propaganda.

In 2024, Somalia’s intelligence agency said it had shut down 20 WhatsApp groups allegedly operated by al-Shabab for extortion and intimidation.

It said it had also disabled data services for about 2,500 phone numbers associated with them.