New Delhi, July 1 -- Meta Platforms Inc. said Wednesday it'll allow high-profile names to be only claimed by legitimate owners as part of its effort to counter impersonation on WhatsApp's new username feature.

Meta's WhatsApp messenger this week began allowing customers to reserve a unique username, with plans for them to become operational later this year.

That move has come under the scrutiny of the Indian government, which is expected to ask WhatsApp to explain the feature and its implications, the Press Trust of India reported citing anonymous sources.

India's tech ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.

Meta said it has built several layers of defenses against scams into WhatsApp's username fe...