This is why WhatsApp just banned over 23.28 lakh Indian accounts

WhatsApp has banned over 23.28 lakh Indian accounts in the month of August 2022. Informing about the same, the online messaging application in the WhatsApp Monthly India Reports, released on October 1 said, "Between 1 August, 2022 and 31 August, 2022, 2,328,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. 1,008,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users." It can be known that the accounts have been banned using the abuse detection approach, which also includes action taken in furtherance to negative feedback received from users via the app's 'Report' feature.

Compared to the month of July, the accounts banned in August are lower. In July over 23.87 lakh Indian accounts were banned by WhatsApp. It can be known that the report is published in accordance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. This report contains information on actions taken by WhatsApp in response to: Grievances received from users in India via the grievance mechanisms of WhatsApp; and accounts actioned in India through the app's prevention and detection methods for violating the laws of India or WhatsApp’s Terms of Service.

According to the information provided in the India Monthly Report, as many as 598 grievance reports were received, and 19 accounts were "actioned" during the month of August 2022. Also, of the total reports received, 449 pertained to 'ban appeal' while others were in the categories of account support, product support and safety, among others.

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 others. Explaining how WhatsApp tackles abuse, the messaging platform informed, in addition to responding to and actioning on user complaints through the grievance channel, the app also deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior on the platform.

"The abuse detection operates at three stages of an account’s lifestyle: at registration, during messaging, and in response to negative feedback, which we receive in the form of user reports and blocks. A team of analysts augments these systems to evaluate edge cases and help improve our effectiveness over time," WhatsApp said in the report.

"We respond to all grievances received except in cases where a grievance is deemed to be a duplicate of a previous ticket. An account is 'actioned' when an account is banned or a previously banned account is restored, as a result of a complaint," the report said.

However, if you think that your WhatsApp account has been banned or suspended without you violating the app's terms then you can appeal to revoke the ban. Here are the steps you can follow for the same: