Accounts & Identity
A multi-year north star that shipped multiple accounts, phone number privacy, native contacts and usernames.
Design Lead
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2022–2026
Set the multi-year identity north star that shipped multiple accounts, WhatsApp Contacts, and Usernames, reducing WhatsApp's dependence on phone numbers while preserving end-to-end encryption.
Problem
WhatsApp’s identity model was anchored to phone numbers, a 2009 decision that simplified onboarding but created compounding problems over time: they were exposed more widely than people wanted, users couldn’t separate personal and professional presence, and alternatives offered more flexible identity. Phone numbers were central to signup, contact discovery, business messaging, and group membership, so any change meant rethinking foundational architecture.
Approach
I worked on the near and long term together: shipping features while building toward a multi-year vision. Privacy infrastructure shipped early, and the strategy work grew from single features into a company-wide north star.
Process
Foundation
Exploratory work across an accounts vision, cross-family product definition, and an identity & expression brief. Ran a privacy design sprint that shaped pillar roadmaps and made me the link between competing organizational interests.
Vision definition
Defined the WhatsApp product vision and a separate identity vision, then presented the north star directly to the CEO as a dedicated deep dive, one of few design-led strategy presentations at that level. It identified evolution across Identity (usernames, flexible expression), Connections (a portable encrypted contact book), and Sign-up (reducing phone-number dependence).
Execution
Shipped incrementally while focusing on the long term: phone-number hiding for business, community messaging, and channels; running two accounts on one phone (2023), letting people keep personal and professional presence separate without a second device; Native Contacts (2024, encrypted storage via IPLS); and Usernames.
Outcome
The north star shaped WhatsApp’s public positioning as the best choice for private communication. Multiple product teams aligned roadmaps to the vision. Phone-number hiding opened new opportunities for business and community messaging. Usernames are now public and can be reserved today. They let people connect without sharing a phone number: no directory or suggestions, so people need the exact username to start a conversation, with an optional username key to restrict who can message first.
Phone Number Privacy – Communities and Channels
WhatsApp Contacts – Encrypted across devices
Multiple WhatsApp accounts
Lessons
Near-term delivery and the long-term vision kept each other honest, and the small team forced clarity.