WhatsApp has begun allowing users to reserve a personal username, a new feature the platform says will let people connect and chat without having to share their phone numbers.

According to a statement from WhatsApp, the move addresses a common discomfort many users face when meeting someone new, whether a classmate, neighbour, or someone met at an event, where handing over a phone number can feel like too big a step.

The same applies to group settings, such as a parent wanting to join a sports team’s chat group without sharing personal contact details with strangers.

With usernames, WhatsApp says people will be able to interact without exchanging digits.

The reservation window opened this week, ahead of the feature’s full launch later this year, giving WhatsApp’s more than three billion users an early opportunity to secure a username before overlaps become common.

WhatsApp recommends choosing something unique that only the people you want to reach you will know, and has built a username generator to help users come up with options.

Creators, small businesses, and organisations that want consistency across platforms also have the option of claiming a username that matches their existing Instagram or Facebook handle.

The platform stressed that usernames are designed with privacy in mind.

There will be no public directory to browse and no suggested usernames, meaning people will need to know someone’s exact username to reach them for the first time.

WhatsApp has also introduced an optional username key, which others will need in order to message a user through their username.

Once the feature is fully rolled out, anyone who sets up a username will no longer have their phone number visible to people messaging them for the first time.

To reserve a username now, users on the latest version of WhatsApp can go to Settings, then Account, then Username, a process WhatsApp says takes just a few seconds.

The feature will be rolled out gradually over the coming months, with users notified within the app once it becomes available in their country.