The introduction of usernames will mean

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Improving Meta Products: To improve services across the Meta family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, etc.).
Personalized Ads: For more relevant advertising on Meta's other platforms, based on your interactions on WhatsApp (e.g., if you interact with a business on WhatsApp, you might see an ad for that business on Facebook/Instagram).
Security and Integrity: To combat spam, abuse, and ensure service security.

Regulatory Fines and Legal Battles: News kazakhstan whatsapp number data regularly covers fines imposed by regulators (e.g., the EU's Digital Markets Act fines, India's Competition Commission of India - CCI) on Meta for its data-sharing practices, particularly concerning the "take it or leave it" nature of the 2021 policy update and how user consent was obtained. These legal battles are ongoing, with recent news (early 2025) even reporting on stays or appeals against such bans (like the NCLAT staying the CCI's ban in India), highlighting the complex legal landscape.

Upcoming Features & Data Privacy News:

Usernames: less reliance on your phone number for discovery, potentially reducing exposure of that direct piece of data.
Advanced Chat Privacy: WhatsApp has recently (April 2025 news) rolled out "Advanced Chat Privacy" settings that can block others from exporting chats, auto-downloading media, and using messages for AI features, giving users more control over their content beyond E2EE.
In essence, while WhatsApp ensures strong end-to-end encryption for your actual conversations, it does collect various metadata and account information. The ongoing news about WhatsApp's data usage primarily revolves around how this non-encrypted data is shared with Meta and the platform's efforts to introduce new features that enhance user control and privacy, especially with the upcoming usernames.