Ammon News - WhatsApp is finally getting a feature that's so basic one has to wonder why it wasn't there in the first place: usernames.

That's right, the Meta-owned app still doesn't let you log in with a username and password, instead requiring you to punch in your phone number. But this appears to be changing.

According to WABetaInfo, which tracks WhatsApp beta features, a new WhatsApp beta (version 25.17.10.70), the company is currently working on adding usernames, though the feature isn't yet available for testing.

The way it'll work is as follows: WhatsApp users will get the option to create a unique username consisting of letters and numbers, provided it doesn't use special characters (besides periods and underscores). For security reasons, usernames won't be allowed to start with "www." or end with a domain such as ".com" to prevent folks to trick people into pretending they represent a website. And, of course, usernames that are already taken will not be available.