New Delhi: WhatsApp has secured a brief extension to submit its response to a government notice regarding its proposed 'username' feature, with the Meta-owned platform providing assurances that the functionality will not be introduced in India until consultations with the government are finalised.

Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the messaging app has been granted an additional three days to file its reply to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Monday. The initial deadline had been set for last Friday.

The proposed feature, which would allow users to communicate without disclosing their phone numbers, has sparked significant concern from the Centre. Officials flagged the potential for a surge in online fraud, phishing attempts, 'digital arrest' scams, and impersonation. Consequently, the government directed the platform to halt the rollout until these concerns are addressed "to the satisfaction of the Government."

A delegation from Meta met with ministry officials last Friday following the receipt of a formal notice. The government has demanded an explanation as to why action should not be initiated against the platform under the IT Act and associated rules, reminding Meta that it is bound by strict due diligence obligations as a significant social media intermediary.

A WhatsApp spokesperson previously stated that the username feature is not yet live and is scheduled for a gradual rollout later this year. "To protect against impersonation, we've held the highest-profile names - think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts - so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well," the company noted.

The platform further emphasised that a phone number remains mandatory to use the service and that multiple layers of security are being integrated. "Other users need to know the exact username to message you. We will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone's username key, and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns," the company stated.

Additionally, WhatsApp intends to provide users with specific metadata when receiving a first-time message via a username, such as whether the sender is a contact, a mutual group member, or located in a different country, to help users decide whether to engage.

The government has since extended its scrutiny to other platforms, issuing notices to Telegram and Signal regarding their existing username features and requesting details on how they mitigate fraud and impersonation risks.

These developments occur amidst broader regulatory pressure on digital platforms. Meta recently received a stern notice concerning child sexual abuse material in Instagram advertisements, while Telegram has been ordered to take action against the widespread distribution of pirated content on its platform.

With inputs from PTI