1 crore WhatsApp numbers banned in September; Here's why

WhatsApp has banned an average of 9.8 million Indian accounts every month till October this year for various violations, prompting discussions with authorities on how to curb the widespread misuse of Indian phone numbers, people familiar with the matter said.

The messaging company’s policy of not sharing details linked to the mobile numbers involved is making it harder for authorities to track spam and cyber fraud, officials said. As a result, the government is in discussions with the platform to find ways to improve cooperation and strengthen efforts to curb fraudulent activity, says a report by The Economic Times.

The Meta-owned messaging platform, for which India is its largest market, releases monthly reports detailing the number of accounts it blocks for violating its terms of service. These actions are based on behaviour patterns that suggest rule-breaking, including signs that an account may be involved in scams or other fraudulent activities.

WhatsApp blocked nearly 98.7 lakh Indian accounts in June 2025, according to its latest compliance report filed under the IT Rules, 2021. Of these, 19.7 lakh accounts were taken down proactively, even before any user complaints were received. While the company says such actions are meant to prevent abuse on the platform, the sheer volume of bans has raised concerns around transparency, consistency in enforcement, and the effectiveness of WhatsApp’s grievance redressal system.

In the same month, WhatsApp received 23,596 grievances from Indian users through official channels like email and post. However, only 1,001 complaints, less than 5%, led to any action, highlighting a large gap between user concerns and the platform’s enforcement thresholds. Most complaints, over 16,000, were appeals against bans, yet action was taken on just 756 accounts. Meanwhile, the 350 reports related to safety issues, such as abuse or harmful behaviour, received no response, with users being redirected to file reports within the app, a process that lacks accountability and often leaves users without follow-up.

WhatsApp says its abuse detection systems monitor account activity at multiple stages, during registration, message sending, and upon receiving negative feedback. Yet, with nearly 1 crore accounts banned in just one month and minimal information on the nature of violations or user recourse, concerns persist around arbitrary enforcement and the lack of an external audit of these systems.

These reports are published in accordance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021)

WhatsApp was built for private messaging, and people most often use WhatsApp to communicate with people they already know. It's a place where people chat with their close friends and family, and also a place where people can communicate privately with a business or speak confidentially with a doctor. Some of our users' most personal moments are shared on WhatsApp, which is why we use end-to-end encryption, so only the sender and recipient can see the contents of messages.