The increase in banned accounts underscores the growing challenge platforms face in maintaining user safety and combating misuse, particularly in regions with large user bases like India
WhatsApp’s India monthly reports on the first three months of 2023 and 2024 revealed that the number of banned accounts on the messaging platform has nearly doubled this year compared to the same period last year.
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The reports, mandated under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provide insights into the platform’s efforts to maintain its community standards and user safety.
According to the data between January 1 and January 31, 2024, a staggering 6,728,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. The figures surged in February, with 7,628,000 accounts banned between February 1 and February 29, 2024. March saw a further increase, with 7,954,000 accounts banned between March 1 and March 31, 2024. This brings the total number of banned accounts in the first three months of 2024 to a striking 22,310,000.
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Comparatively, between January 1 and January 31, 2023, a total of 2,918,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. In February, 4,597,400 accounts faced bans. Lastly, March witnessed 4,715,906 accounts being banned. This accumulated to a total of 12,231,306 banned accounts.
WhatsApp, on its webpage, states: “If your account is banned, you’ll see the following message when you open WhatsApp – ‘This account is not allowed to use WhatsApp’. 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.”
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The messaging platform has encouraged users to review its “Acceptable Use of Our Services” section within the Terms of Service to better understand the guidelines and ensure compliance. WhatsApp also highlighted its focus on security, urging users to keep their accounts secure and report any unauthorised use promptly.
However, the increase in banned accounts underscores the growing challenge platforms face in maintaining user safety and combating misuse, particularly in regions with large user bases like India. As of March 2024, India leads globally in WhatsApp usage, boasting over 530 million monthly active users, making it the country with the highest number of users on the platform.
