I secured my new WhatsApp user name, you must act now to get yours

Anyone who loves sending messages via WhatsApp would be wise to follow some simple advice and set up a new way to chat. The Meta-owned platform announced earlier this week that it will soon allow its billions of users to make contact with others without sharing a phone number. Until now, handing over that very personal piece of data has been the only way to start a conversation or join a group chat. That's not always ideal and WhatsApp is now fixing the problem.

"Sometimes you just want to chat without handing over your digits", WhatsApp explained.

"That's why we're introducing usernames for WhatsApp."

Although the change won't officially happen for a few months, WhatsApp is allowing users to pick their user name right now so it's ready for the launch, and it's a good idea to do it as soon as possible.

I went to my settings this morning, and many names were already taken. The longer you leave it, the less likely you are to get what you want.

Here's how to pick your name.

Launch WhatsApp and then head to Settings, tap Account and choose Username.

Here you can now start typing in ideas with the app showing what is available and what's been grabbed.

"We'll be rolling out usernames gradually over the coming months and will notify you in WhatsApp when they're available in your country," WhatsApp added.

"Once we launch usernames, when you message a person or business for the first time they will no longer see your phone number, if you enabled your username."

If you want a user name, the advice is clear: act now to secure one that suits you.