New Delhi, June 30 -- WhatsApp is finally beginning to let users keep their mobile numbers private while chatting on the personal messaging app. There have been rumours for a few months that the Meta-owned app is opting for a username-based system. The company made the announcement official in a blog post on Monday, where it also said that reservations for these usernames would go live next week.

While the username can be reserved from next week, the feature itself will be coming out to WhatsApp users later this year.

"Usernames are our latest step to make WhatsApp even more private. There's no directory to browse and no suggestions - people will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time," the company wrote in a...