WhatsApp releases a monthly India report in which it provides the number of accounts it has banned in the country. These bans are either implemented on receiving reports by other users or if the company’s system flags it. However, if your account has been banned, you can seek a review.
Why WhatsApp accounts are banned
Usually, the Meta-owned company bans accounts due to an account activity, such as terrorism, nudity or exploitation, among others, that violates its policies.
“We ban accounts if we believe the account activity violates our Terms of Service, for example if it involves spam, scams or if it puts WhatsApp users’ safety at risk,” the company said.
“After reviewing your account activity, we may remove the ban so that you have access to WhatsApp,” it adds.
What happens when an account is banned
If an account is banned, users will see the following message when you open WhatsApp: “This account is not allowed to use WhatsApp.”
“We recommend carefully reviewing the “Acceptable Use of Our Services” section of our Terms of Service to learn more about the appropriate uses of WhatsApp and the activities that violate our Terms of Service,” the company added.
How to request review of ban on WhatsApp account
If you think that your account was banned in error, you can request a review.
Tap “Request a review” in the app and WhatsApp will investigate and respond after the review is complete. Only one phone number can be reviewed per appeal. Submitting multiple requests won’t speed things up. Once reviewed, a decision will be made and you’ll be notified by WhatsApp.
If you received a “Temporarily banned” in-app message, it may mean you are using an unofficial version of WhatsApp or harvesting information, known as scraping.
“Switch to the official app or stop engaging in scraping after being temporarily banned. If you don’t, your account might be permanently banned from using WhatsApp,” the company added.
Why WhatsApp accounts are banned
Usually, the Meta-owned company bans accounts due to an account activity, such as terrorism, nudity or exploitation, among others, that violates its policies.
“We ban accounts if we believe the account activity violates our Terms of Service, for example if it involves spam, scams or if it puts WhatsApp users’ safety at risk,” the company said.
“After reviewing your account activity, we may remove the ban so that you have access to WhatsApp,” it adds.
What happens when an account is banned
If an account is banned, users will see the following message when you open WhatsApp: “This account is not allowed to use WhatsApp.”
“We recommend carefully reviewing the “Acceptable Use of Our Services” section of our Terms of Service to learn more about the appropriate uses of WhatsApp and the activities that violate our Terms of Service,” the company added.
How to request review of ban on WhatsApp account
If you think that your account was banned in error, you can request a review.
Tap “Request a review” in the app and WhatsApp will investigate and respond after the review is complete. Only one phone number can be reviewed per appeal. Submitting multiple requests won’t speed things up. Once reviewed, a decision will be made and you’ll be notified by WhatsApp.
If you received a “Temporarily banned” in-app message, it may mean you are using an unofficial version of WhatsApp or harvesting information, known as scraping.
“Switch to the official app or stop engaging in scraping after being temporarily banned. If you don’t, your account might be permanently banned from using WhatsApp,” the company added.
