Nothing can be more frustrating than being bombarded with unwanted spam messages. They clog up your inbox and disturb you at all hours of day and night. Whether you use WhatsApp for personal or business purposes, spam messages don’t create a very positive user experience.
Spam messages are a violation of WhatsApp’s terms of service, so it’s important that you report spam on WhatsApp. You may be tempted to just block the number sending the spam, but spam can have nefarious purposes and lead to some bad consequences. So reporting it is the best thing to do. Here we’ll go over how to report spam on WhatsApp and what will happen when you report a number as spam.
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How do I report someone on WhatsApp?
First, let’s just talk about the difference between blocking someone and reporting them. When you block someone on WhatsApp, they are unable to send you messages or call you. They won’t be able to see your status or any updates to your profile.
On the other hand, when you report someone, in addition to the above results, WhatsApp is alerted that the person has been reported. Then WhatsApp will keep track of that user should they get reported numerous times after that. By reporting them, you contribute to a case against them that can ultimately result a user being banned, temporarily or, in extreme cases, permanently.
You can report someone on WhatsApp using the web or desktop application and your mobile phone. There are several methods for reporting a WhatsApp number on each application, and they all vary just a bit. You are also always prompted with an option to block and report a contact when they first message you as well. So before you’ve saved them to your contacts or messaged them back, you can go ahead and choose the option to block or report them right from the chat window. This is the case in each application, on iPhone, Android, and PC.
If you need to block someone after that prompt has disappeared, there are still plenty of ways to do so. Below are steps to report spam on WhatsApp using your Android device, iPhone, and the WhatsApp Web desktop application.
Reporting Spam on WhatsApp for Android
Here we have outlined the steps to report and block someone on WhatsApp using your Android device. There are three different methods.
The first method will allow you to get straight to reporting a person.
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- Open the Chat icon.
- Select the chat that is spam.
- Once the message is open, click the 3 dots icon in the top right corner.
- From the drop-down menu click More options.
- Click Report spam.
- Make sure that Block contact and delete messages from chat is checked.
- Click Report to send report to WhatsApp, block the user, and delete messages.
A second method allows you to choose to block a user with or without reporting them.
- Open the chat that is spam.
- Click the 3 dots icon in the top right corner.
- From the drop-down menu, choose More options.
- Click Block.
- You’ll be asked to choose between two options:
- Block the user without reporting them.
- Block the user and also send a report to WhatsApp.
A third method to block users and report spam in WhatsApp is by going through the user’s contact card.
- Open up the conversation with the spam.
- Click on the number or username at the top of the chat window.
- In the options that appear, choose Block and report contact.
Some spam comes in the form of a group chat. And simply leaving the chat doesn’t prevent you from being added to a similar group later on.
Report a WhatsApp Group on Android
There are two ways to go about this. Do you want to report the WhatsApp group for violating any of WhatsApp’s policies or do you want to report and block the administrator of the group to prevent him/her from adding you to a group again?
To report a WhatsApp group for spam or violating guidelines, you can follow the below steps:
- Open the group you wish to report to WhatsApp.
- Tap the name at the top of your chat window.
- A new tab will appear. Navigate to the bottom of the screen.
- You shall see a Report group option. Tap on that.
- You shall now be asked to confirm. To do so, tap on the Report button.
- You may choose to exit group and delete the group’s messages while reporting. By default, it’s checked. If you want to continue being a part of the group while also retaining the group chat, uncheck this option.
To report spam in WhatsApp group chats you’ll need to block and report the administrator.
- Open the group chat with the spam.
- Tap the name at the top of the chat window.
- A new tab will appear. Scroll down to the list of participating users in the group chat. The administrator will be labeled as such. Click on his/her name.
- On the next screen, you’ll see a list of options to choose from. Click on Message.
- From here, follow the same steps from above to report the administrator and block them. This will ensure they cannot add you to any future group chats.
- Now just go ahead and leave the group chat and delete the messages.
Report WhatsApp Spam Messages on iPhone
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- Click on the chat that is spam.
- Tap the phone number or username at the top of the chat window.
- Scroll down and select Block Contact or Report Contact.
Report a WhatsApp Group on iPhone
The process to report a group or a group chat on iPhone is similar to that on an Android.
To report a WhatsApp group, follow the below steps:
- Open the WhatsApp group that you wish to report.
- Tap the group name.
- A new screen shall appear. Navigate to the bottom.
- You shall see a Report group option. Tap on that.
- You shall now be asked to confirm. To do so, tap on the Report button.
- You may choose to exit group and delete the group’s messages while reporting. By default, this option is enabled. If you want to report the group without exiting and retaining your group conversations, kindly uncheck this option.
To report a group admin and prevent him from adding you again, follow the below steps:
- Open the group chat that is spam.
- Tap the names at the top of the chat window.
- A new window will appear. Scroll down to find the list of participating users in the group chat. The administrator will be labeled as such. Click on his/her name.
- On the next screen will be a list of user interactions. Click on Send message.
- From here, follow the same steps from above to report the administrator and block them. This will ensure they cannot add you to any future group chats.
- Be sure to go back and leave the group after you’ve done this as blocking the administrator won’t automatically remove you from the group chat.
Reporting Spam on WhatsApp Web
The procedure for reporting a WhatsApp number is the same on both the web and the desktop applications, for Windows and Mac.
- Open WhatsApp desktop app or open WhatsApp Web in a browser.
- Connect to your account by scanning the QR code on your phone.
- Open the chat that is spam.
- Click on the 3 dots icon in the right panel.
- Choose Contact info.
- Scroll down and select Block or Report contact.
Report a Group on WhatsApp Web
To report a WhatsApp group for the steps below:
- Open the group you wish to report to WhatsApp.
- Click on the group name.
- A menu will appear. Navigate to the bottom of it.
- You shall see a Report group option. Click on that.
- You shall now be asked to confirm. To do so, tap on the Report button.
- You may choose to exit group and delete the group’s messages as well while reporting. By default this option is turned on. If you wish to continue being a group member and not lose your messages, uncheck it before you click on the Report button.
For reporting group chats, follow these steps:
- Open the group chat that is spam.
- Tap the names at the top of the chat window.
- A new window will appear. Scroll down to find the list of participating users in the group chat. The administrator will be labeled as such. Click on his/her name. A new chat with the administrator will open.
- From here, follow the same steps from above to report the administrator and block them.
- Now you can leave the group and delete the messages.
What happens when you report a number as spam on WhatsApp?
Once you report a WhatsApp number as spam, the report is sent to the company, where they will essentially start a file on that number. If there are other reports for that number, the WhatsApp team will likely ban the number for 24 hours. After the 24-hour ban is up, if more reports continue to come in for that number, they will typically issue a permanent ban. That number is no long allowed to sign up for a WhatsApp account.
That’s why reporting spam on WhatsApp, rather than simply blocking it, is the best option. Getting those kinds of spam/hoax users removed from the platform is the most ideal situation for everyone who uses the app. It doesn’t take any longer to report a WhatsApp number than to block it, so if you encounter spam on the platform you should just go ahead and report it as such.
When you report someone on WhatsApp do they know?
When you report spam on WhatsApp, the user is not notified. The only way they will ever know that people have reported them is if they get reported numerous times. At that point, WhatsApp will start sending them warning messages. And if they continue to be reported, WhatsApp will issue a temporary ban. So ultimately, a person will not know that you specifically have reported them. So there’s no need to worry.
However, they probably will be able to determine that you have blocked them, which will happen automatically when you report them. A user can determine that you have blocked them a few ways:
- Calls to you do not go through.
- Messages sent to you show only one check mark (indicating that the message was sent) and not two check marks (indicating that the message was delivered).
- Your status or when you were last seen is no longer visible to them.
You should now feel confident in knowing how to report spam on WhatsApp using your Android, iPhone, or PC. Staying safe and doing your part to keep malicious or spammy users off the platform is very important.
How to un-report someone on WhatsApp?
There currently is no way to unreport someone or a group. If you accidentally reported a group or a number, you need not worry because WhatsApp goes through each grievance or harassment report seriously and they shall only block or limit the person’s or the group’s activities if they verify that your report was valid or if a lot of people have reported the same. If you left the group or deleted the messages while reporting, you can ask the group admin to add you back and you shall be able to restore your messages using your WhatsApp chat’s backup on your phone’s storage or Google Drive.
If you are being threatened or harassed by someone on WhatsApp, you should contact law enforcement before you report the person and the messages are gone. Threatening messages should be documented before they are deleted. Additionally, if there’s something going on that you think warrants a more expedient handling by the WhatsApp grievance team, you can submit a report to them directly, in which case you can describe your problem and attach screenshots.
For example, if a user isn’t breaking the law or being directly threatening, but they are clearly violating the terms of service and you think they pose a risk to you and others, you can let WhatsApp know what’s going on. This might be a more effective way to handle malicious users if you aren’t sure that the standard process is going to work.
They may not get reported enough to be removed from the app, either because other people are just blocking them without reporting them or because they aren’t bothering enough other folks to warrant a ban. After all, when you report someone, WhatsApp doesn’t know why you’re doing so. They simply document the event and track future reports. So that option is always helpful. Simply navigate to Settings > Help > Contact Us.
To review, there are numerous methods of reporting spam on WhatsApp. On Android, you can find the options to block and report numbers from within the chat window, or you can go to the user’s contact page and scroll down to find the options there. On iPhone, the primary method is by selecting the contact and finding the report and block options. And on your WhatsApp Web application you can find these options by clicking on the user’s contact info.
Hopefully these steps help to protect your privacy and security on WhatsApp should you encounter spam or other harassing users. Certainly reporting them will go a long way in keeping the platform safer for everyone on it.
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