India, July 2 -- Two days after WhatsApp announced a new username feature, the government wants to know what it means for a country where cyber scams already run on hidden identities.

WhatsApp's username feature promises a way to message someone without handing over a phone number - a genuine privacy upgrade, and one users on rival apps have had for years.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which issued a notice to WhatsApp on Wednesday, has sought the answer to a narrower question: in a country where scams run on impersonation and untraceable numbers, does that same privacy feature also make it harder to trace who is behind the message?

The ministry has given WhatsApp three days to explain and asked the co...