WhatsApp adds a crucial feature to help stop impersonation

Meta is working on a new feature in WhatsApp for iOS that allows users to add verified Instagram profile links. This is part of a broader effort to bring the feature to both Android and iOS platforms. The feature gives users the ability to add a verification badge next to their Instagram link to confirm that it genuinely belongs to the user, reducing the risk of impersonation.

Right now, there is no way to verify a profile link, which means that a malicious user could add a link to a celebrity’s profile and mislead others. In a world where online trust issues are growing, this will be a welcome addition to WhatsApp.

To verify an Instagram profile link, users will need to connect their WhatsApp account to Meta’s Accounts Center. The Accounts Center is a centralized hub for managing connected experiences across Meta’s apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Using the Accounts Center for verification is entirely optional, and users still have the choice to add unverified links.

Users who do decide to carry on using unverified profile links will not have the new authenticity label. This forces users to rely on their own judgment to determine whether a link is trustworthy. The new feature creates a two-tiered system of trust on the platform that users may find helpful for security, but increases Meta’s centralization by forcing you to use Accounts Center to get the badge.

The feature is still under development and will be released in a future update. It’s not even available for most beta users just yet, but a wider expansion is expected before it arrives for stable users. There is no specific release timeline available yet. WABetaInfo notes that only Instagram is supported right now, but other services could be supported in the future.

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Posted Tuesday 12 August 2025 at 4:34 am AEST (my time).

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