Behind-the-Scenes Change in WhatsApp: The Era of LID and JID and the End of Mobile Number Exposure

A significant technical change is underway behind the scenes at WhatsApp, promising to fundamentally alter how user privacy is managed on the platform. It concerns the transition from the use of JID (Jabber ID), which today is directly tied to the user's phone number, to the LID (Logical ID), a logical identifier. Although it is not an update loudly announced to the general public, its impacts will be felt by all users, especially developers and businesses that use the service's API.

What Are LID and JID?

Currently, a user's identity on WhatsApp is their JID, which, in practice, is their phone number formatted in a specific way for the app's network (based on the XMPP, or Jabber, protocol). This architecture means that, to start a conversation or add a contact, exchanging phone numbers is, in most cases, indispensable.

The new approach introduces the LID (Logical ID), a unique logical identifier that decouples the user's identity on WhatsApp from their phone number. This change represents an additional layer of abstraction and privacy, allowing communication to occur without the need to expose a personal or business mobile number.

The Impact of the Update: More Privacy and Fighting Spam

The main motivation behind this change is enhancing user privacy, a growing demand driven by regulations such as those from the European Union. By disassociating the user's identity from their phone number, WhatsApp aims to:

• Reduce Personal Data Exposure: In large communities and groups, the phone numbers of all members become visible, which represents a privacy risk. With the transition to LID and the future implementation of usernames, this exposure will be eliminated.

• Combat Spam and Abusive Practices: Mass extraction of group contacts for sending spam will be made more difficult, since the phone number will no longer be the primary and visible identifier.

• Lay the Groundwork for Usernames: The move to LID is a technical prerequisite for implementing a username system, similar to what already exists in apps like Telegram and Instagram. In the future, it will be possible to find and start conversations with other users solely by their username, without ever having access to their phone number.

Who Will Be Affected?

Although the change is happening "behind the scenes," its effects will be far-reaching:

• Regular Users: They will be the biggest beneficiaries in terms of privacy. The ability to interact in groups and with new people without exposing a personal phone number is a significant advance in security and control over one's own information.

• Businesses and WhatsApp Business Users: The change will bring more security to interactions with customers. Communication can be established more professionally, without the need to share the company's or its employees' direct phone number.

• Developers and Companies That Use the WhatsApp API: This group will feel the most direct and technical impact. Automation systems, customer service (such as chatbots), and other integrations that depend on the WhatsApp API will need to adapt to recognize and operate with the new identifiers (LIDs) instead of phone-number-based JIDs. Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, should provide documentation and guides so that this transition occurs smoothly.

Although there is not yet a public, detailed timeline for the completion of this transition, activity in the developer community and the app's beta versions indicate that the change is an ongoing and prioritized project for WhatsApp. The expectation is that, soon, communication on the world's most popular messaging app will become significantly more private and secure.