When I think about church communication, I think first about people, not platforms. I think about the person asking for pastoral support, the newcomer joining a group for the first time, the volunteer trying to serve well and the leader who needs to know when something important has happened.

Helping churches build a culture of community, through safe, open and joyful communication.

Good communication should help people feel known, included and safe. The tools we use should support that care and help the right people step in when support is needed.

That is why WhatsApp usernames are worth talking about. They could stop personal phone numbers from being shown to everyone in a group, which is a welcome privacy change. But protecting a phone number is not the same as safeguarding someone.

A username does not confirm who is behind an account. It does not set healthy limits for private contact. It does not give a church a clear record when something worrying is shared.

The question is not simply whether usernames make WhatsApp more private. Churches also need to ask whether their communication stays safe, open to review and linked to their safeguarding process.

What will WhatsApp usernames change?

WhatsApp announced usernames in June 2026. At the time of the research behind this article, people could reserve a username and the messaging feature was due to roll out later in the year.

The feature will be optional. It should allow someone to make first contact or take part in a group without automatically showing their phone number to everyone else. There will be no public list of usernames, and people will usually need to know the exact username before getting in touch.

WhatsApp will still need a mobile number when someone creates an account. The username changes what other people see, but it does not replace the phone-number-based account behind it.

I can see why this will appeal to churches. A newcomer could join a group without sharing their number with dozens of people they have never met. A person looking for pastoral support could make first contact without giving away more than they are ready to share. Volunteers could also join teams without handing their personal number to a wide group.

No one should have to share a phone number simply because they want to take part in church life. That is a real benefit, but it only deals with one part of safe church communication.

Safeguarding is about the whole conversation

Safeguarding is not only about stopping harmful messages. It is also about how communication is set up, who can contact whom and what happens when something concerning is shared.

A church needs to know when private contact is suitable, which leaders should be present in a group and how pastoral conversations should be handled. It also needs a clear route for reporting concerns, keeping a record and making sure the safeguarding lead can respond.

The Charity Commission says safeguarding should be a key governance priority for charities. That responsibility still applies when church life takes place online. It does not disappear because a conversation is happening through a familiar app or on a volunteer’s phone.

WhatsApp does include useful personal safety settings. People can block and report accounts, control who adds them to groups and manage their privacy settings. These controls matter, but they sit with each person rather than giving the church one shared safeguarding process.

A username cannot provide agreed boundaries, trusted roles or a clear way for the right people to step in.

Usernames may make identity less clear

This is the part I think could easily be missed.

A phone number is not proof of identity, but it often gives people a familiar way to recognise who is in a chat. A username replaces that visible detail with a name chosen by the person using the account.

That name could be a nickname. It could change, or look very similar to somebody else’s. Someone could also choose a name that makes them appear to be a pastor, small-group leader or church member when they are not.

WhatsApp’s announcement did not describe identity checks for every ordinary account. Impersonation may be against its rules, but a rule does not tell a church who is really behind each username.

This matters because churches need to know which accounts belong to members, visitors, volunteers and approved leaders. They also need to know when someone changes role or should no longer have access.

Without a separate way to check people and roles, a username may improve privacy while making accountability harder. It should be treated as a label, not proof of identity.

Adults at risk need clear boundaries

Safeguarding is often linked with children and young people, but it also applies to adults.

Someone may be at risk because of illness, disability, grief, poor mental health, abuse or a difficult period in their life. Pastoral messages can become deeply personal very quickly.

Private messages may feel caring, which is often why people use them. But they can also become hard for the wider church to see.

A person may begin to rely heavily on one leader. Contact may continue late at night. A volunteer may promise secrecy before realising that the concern needs to reach the safeguarding lead.

Sensitive conversations may then remain on a personal phone when that volunteer changes role or leaves the church.

This can place pressure on the person receiving care, the volunteer and the church. It can also mean that an important concern never reaches the right leader.

WhatsApp should not become the only place where a pastoral or safeguarding concern is kept. Important information needs to reach the right person and be held through the church’s agreed process.

Thirtyone:eight advises churches to keep communication accessible and able to be reviewed if there is a complaint or allegation. That gives us a simple test: could the right people understand what happened if they needed to?

A chat history is not a church safeguarding record

WhatsApp conversations may remain on the phones of the people involved, but that does not mean the church has a clear record.

Messages can be deleted, forwarded, copied or exported. Screenshots can be saved elsewhere and backups may sit on personal accounts. A former volunteer may still hold months of pastoral conversations after leaving their role.

If someone raises a concern, the safeguarding lead may have to piece together what happened from several people and devices. Disappearing messages can make this harder, as something important may vanish before it reaches the right person or is added to the church’s record.

Safe communication should not depend on whether one person still has an old chat on their phone. The church needs to be able to respond with care, clarity and a reliable record.

Young people still need extra care

The same concerns apply to communication with children and young people.

A username may stop a young person’s phone number from being shown to a whole group. That is positive, but being old enough to use WhatsApp is not the same as being in a safe church setting.

Church safeguarding guidance often points towards group communication rather than private contact, parent or carer permission, more than one approved adult and messages that can be reviewed if a concern is raised.

A young person might message a leader late at night, say that somebody has made them uncomfortable or begin to share something difficult before stopping. A conversation might start in a group and then move into private messages.

At that point, the phone number is not the main issue. The leader needs to know how to respond, the church needs to know who should be told and the safeguarding lead may need a clear record of what was said.

Hiding the young person’s number does not help with those next steps.

A privacy step, not a GDPR answer

Safeguarding is the main issue here, but GDPR still matters.

Keeping phone numbers hidden can support data minimisation. Put simply, that means only using the personal information that is needed. But a phone number is only one piece of personal data, and a username can also count as personal data when it identifies someone.

Church chats often contain much more sensitive information. Prayer requests may reveal details about health, grief, addiction or family life. Pastoral messages may include information about abuse, debt, mental health or relationships. Even being part of a church group can reveal something about a person’s beliefs, which is a Special Category of data under GDPR rules.

A church may still need to know why that information is being used, who can see it and how long it should be kept. It may need to find messages when someone asks to see their personal data, or respond when information reaches the wrong person.

Usernames do not give the church control over screenshots, forwarding, personal backups or copies kept on private phones. They do not make a church’s use of WhatsApp automatically GDPR compliant.

So, are WhatsApp usernames good for churches?

For me, the jury is still out.

Hiding phone numbers may help people keep one part of their personal information private. But usernames could also make it harder to know who is really behind an account, especially where churches do not have their own way to check people and roles.

That matters because privacy and accountability need to work together. A change that hides a phone number but makes identity less clear may not leave churches in a better place overall.

There are also still questions about how usernames will work in groups, exports, backups and admin settings once the feature is fully rolled out. Until churches can test those things in practice, it is too early to call this a positive move.

What we can say is that usernames do not solve the wider safeguarding problem. They do not create clear boundaries, trusted roles or a church-owned record when something goes wrong.

That is why churches should look at the whole way they communicate, not just the detail people see beside a message.

Why Jovo is a safer fit for churches

This is one of the reasons we built Jovo.

Personal messaging apps are based around personal accounts and private phones. Jovo gives your church one dedicated place to talk, with safeguarding built in from the start.

Church messages stay separate from personal chats. No phone numbers or personal profiles are shared, and people join with a name and email address.

Members, groups and permissions are managed by the church through a central admin area. This helps leaders know who belongs in each space and which people hold approved roles.

Jovo also includes message reporting, blocking and a record of activity across the church. When something difficult comes up, the right people can review what happened and respond through the church’s safeguarding process.

Temporary groups can close when their work is done, so old pastoral, event or volunteer chats do not need to carry on without a clear purpose. The church also keeps control of its data, with Jovo acting as the data processor. This supports a clearer approach to access, records and GDPR than communication spread across personal WhatsApp accounts.

Jovo supports announcements, group conversations, scheduled messages and email digests. It is available on iOS, Android and through a web browser. Those features are useful, but the purpose matters more.

Jovo helps churches create a safe, open place where people can stay connected and the right leaders can step in when care is needed.

Safe communication needs the whole church

WhatsApp usernames are a welcome privacy step, but safe church communication is about more than hiding a phone number.

It depends on knowing who people are, setting clear boundaries and making sure concerns reach the right leaders. It also means keeping a clear record and giving the church proper oversight of its own communication.

That is what Jovo was built to support: one safe place to talk, with the care and accountability that church community needs.

Explore a safer way for your church to talk.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Churches should also follow the requirements of their denomination, diocese, safeguarding body and insurer.

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