Status: It's currently in beta testing for Android and iOS and expected to roll out more broadly.
Phone Number Privacy in Communities: WhatsApp has already introduced a feature that hides your phone number from most other members in a WhatsApp Community. Only admins and those who already have your number saved can see it. This is a direct response to privacy concerns in large group settings.
Multi-Account Support: of multi-account support on a single device, meaning you can have different phone numbers linked to separate WhatsApp accounts on the same phone.
Your WhatsApp number is your phone number because that's how the app was originally built for simplicity and widespread adoption, mirroring SMS. However, the current news clearly mexico whatsapp number data indicates that WhatsApp is evolving. While your phone number will remain a core identifier, the introduction of usernames and enhanced privacy controls in Communities are direct responses to user demand for more control over their phone number's visibility and alternative ways to connect.
When people talk about a "WhatsApp number database," the news usually falls into two main categories:
Alleged Data Breaches/Leaks: This is the most common and concerning type of news.
What it means: Reports surface about large collections of WhatsApp user phone numbers being compiled and sold online, often on hacking forums or the dark web.
Recent News (from late 2022 onwards): There were widely reported claims of a database containing nearly 500 million WhatsApp user mobile numbers from 84 different countries being put up for sale. This included millions of numbers from the US, UK, Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, India, and more.
WhatsApp's Response: WhatsApp (and its parent company Meta) typically deny these as direct "data leaks" from their systems. They often suggest that such databases are more likely compiled through "scraping" – a process where phone numbers are collected from publicly accessible sources (like websites, social media profiles where users might have made their numbers public) or through automated means that violate WhatsApp's terms of service.