WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is one of the most widely used instant messaging apps globally, with over 2 billion monthly active users. For its vast user base, the platform also prioritises user safety by offering end-to-end encrypted messaging, as well as report and block features. Alongside these security measures, WhatsApp diligently reviews all reports submitted by its users and takes appropriate action against accounts that violate the company’s Terms of Service. This includes addressing issues such as spam, scams, any behaviour that risks the safety of WhatsApp users. To maintain transparency, WhatsApp also publishes its findings in the User Safety Monthly Report. According to the most recent report, released for April 2023, WhatsApp has banned over 74 lakh accounts in India.
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WhatsApp released the report in accordance with Rule 4(1)(d) and Rule 3A(7) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It reveals a number of Indian accounts that were banned, user complaints, and other pertinent information during that period.
According to the latest report, WhatsApp banned a staggering 74 lakh Indian accounts in April March 2023. Within the timeframe of April 1 to April 30, 2023, WhatsApp imposed bans on more than 7,452,500 Indian users. Out of this number, approximately 2,469,700 accounts were proactively banned by WhatsApp without any prior user complaints. The remaining accounts were identified and acted upon through the platform’s preventive and detection measures.
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Further, the platform also received 4,377 grievances reports, from which it took actions against 234 accounts. Notably, the figure of April 2023 is almost double compared to the figures from March 2023. In march WhatsApp banned over 47 lakh Indian accounts.
While the platform continues to receive reports from users, the increase in reports during April may be attributed to the ongoing WhatsApp scams, where many users have reportedly received spam messages and calls from various numbers. WhatsApp emphasises its role as an industry leader in combating abuse and highlights its investments in artificial intelligence, data scientists, and experts to ensure user safety. The platform has consistently prioritised the development of processes aimed at preventing abuse on its platform.
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“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, in order to keep our users safe on our platform. In accordance with the IT Rules 2021, we’ve published our report for the month of April 2023. This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform. As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 7.4 million accounts in the month of April and over 2.4 million of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
