WhatsApp Account Ban: Here are some steps you can take to prevent your WhatsApp account from being accidentally banned.
WhatsApp banned 26.85 lakh accounts in India in September, including 8.72 lakh accounts that were barred proactively before being flagged by users, the company said on Tuesday.
The number of accounts blocked in September was 15 percent more than the 23.28 lakh accounts the messaging platform banned in August.
“Between 1 September 2022 and 30 September 2022, 2,685,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. 872,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users. An Indian account is identified via a +91 phone number,” its ‘User Safety Report’ for September.
Like other social media platforms, WhatsApp releases its monthly report on the first day of every month detailing the action it took on various accounts after complaints by the users. The report is published under India Monthly Report under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
“WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services. Over the years, we have consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state-of-the-art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, to keep our users safe on our platform”, the official spokesperson statement said.
Talking about tackling abuse on WhatsApp, the Meta-owned messaging platform said it also deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior. It said the focus is on prevention because it is better to stop harmful activity from happening in the first place than detect harm when it occurs.
Think twice before forwarding Messages
WhatsApp has already created a label for forwarded messages that tell users when messages have been forwarded many times. It also limits the number of times that users can forward messages. In case you are not sure whether a message you received is not true or if you are not sure about the source of the message, avoid forwarding it. If a message has the tag ‘Forwarded many times on top of it, it is best to avoid forwarding this to every one of your groups, because your behavior could also get tagged as possible spamming.
Don’t overuse broadcast lists
If you send messages using a broadcast list, users will only receive it if they have saved your number as a contact. If you frequently use broadcast messages, it might lead to many people reporting your messages. WhatsApp bans accounts that are reported multiple times such violations.
*Don’t violate WhatsApp’s Terms of Service
This is pretty self-explanatory. WhatsApp’s Terms of Service prohibit any sort of behaviors that can fall into the categories of illegal, defamatory, intimidating, harassing, or publishing falsehoods.
What if your account gets accidentally banned?
If your WhatsApp account does get banned for some reason and you think it was a mistake, this is what you need to do. You need to either email WhatsApp or request a review in the WhatsApp app. If you hit the request a review option, you will be sent a 6-digit OTP that you need to enter.
Once you enter the OTP, you can submit your request with details supporting your case. WhatsApp will look at it and get back as soon as the review is complete.
