"How do I know it's really you?" The problem with messaging apps and usernames
On messaging apps, that question always answered itself: you were a phone number, and the number was you. Now WhatsApp is swapping numbers for usernames, a real privacy win with a catch every other platform already lives with. Instagram, X and Telegram let people pick a name instead of proving one, and drowned in impersonation, confusion and handles for sale. Messaging was the last place a name still meant something. There are a thousand Abhinavs. Soon you won't know which one is texting you.
On messaging apps, that question always answered itself: you were a phone number, and the number was you. Now WhatsApp is swapping numbers for usernames, a real privacy win with a catch every other platform already lives with. Instagram, X and Telegram let people pick a name instead of proving one, and drowned in impersonation, confusion and handles for sale. Messaging was the last place a name still meant something. There are a thousand Abhinavs. Soon you won't know which one is texting you.
