The Meta-owned messaging app has assured the government that the username feature will not be introduced in India until ongoing consultations are concluded. The extension comes after WhatsApp sought more time to submit its response to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The platform was originally required to reply by July 3, but now has until July 6 to respond. Last week, the government issued a notice to Meta over WhatsApp's planned username feature, which would allow users to communicate without sharing their mobile numbers. The government expressed concern that the feature could potentially facilitate online fraud, phishing, impersonation, and so-called 'digital arrest' scams if introduced without adequate safeguards. WhatsApp had planned to roll out the feature on July 3, but now has three more days to respond to the government's notice.