New Delhi, July 6 -- India's suspension of WhatsApp's planned username feature appears to be a dispute over a product update. But a closer look shows it is the latest chapter in a long battle over how much visibility governments should have on the identities of those who use such digital platforms to communicate.

Meta's proposed username option will let WhatsApp users trade messages without revealing their phone numbers to those who do not have them saved. But law enforcers want visible numbers since they offer investigative leads.

The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) says that usernames will make it harder to identify fraudsters and probe cybercrimes. After asking WhatsApp to pause their rollout, it sought exp...