India, June 30 -- Giving out your phone number on WhatsApp can feel like a bigger deal than it should. It is fine with close friends and family. It gets a bit weird with a classmate you just met, a random event group, a customer, or a community chat where half the people are basically strangers.

WhatsApp now wants to make that less awkward. The Meta-owned messaging app is introducing usernames, giving users another way to connect without putting their phone number front and center.

Users can start reserving usernames now, ahead of a wider rollout later this year. Once the feature is available, people who turn it on will be able to use a username for first-time chats instead of immediately sharing their number.

The big change is simple...