India reviews WhatsApp, Telegram replies on username fraud risk

India's IT secretary said Monday the government has received responses from messaging platforms over its concerns about the username feature, and will announce its position after reviewing them.

Three platforms – WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal – were sent notices in early July after the government flagged that allowing users to communicate without sharing phone numbers could increase online fraud, phishing and impersonation attacks. WhatsApp was directed not to launch the feature until consultations are completed "to the satisfaction of the government."

"On the usernames issue, yes, the responses have been received from some of the platforms. We are examining those responses, and we will make available our stance," IT Secretary S Krishnan told reporters.