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New feature to block messages from unknown accounts in WhatsApp#

Updated November 25, 2024 (August 28, 2024)

Block unknown in WA

WhatsApp is constantly working to improve user security and privacy. The last update for the app includes a new feature that should help reduce spam and unwanted messages - "Block unknown senders". As of today, WhatsApp has rolled out a new privacy feature to all operating systems.

  1. About the new feature
  2. Benefits of the new feature
  3. Enable/disable the feature
  4. Automatically enable the feature
  5. Conclusion

1. About the new feature#

The new feature allows users to automatically block messages from accounts that are not in their contact list and whose messages exceed a user-defined limit. The message limit option is available in the privacy settings and allows users to set the number of messages they are willing to receive from unknown senders.

For the sender of a mailing to unknown numbers, this means that after sending 100-200 messages, WhatsApp may ban the number.

2. Benefits of the new feature#

  • Reduce spam. Protect yourself from unwanted spam and advertising messages.
  • Increase security. Reduce the risk of phishing and receiving malicious content.
  • Improve performance. Reducing the amount of incoming spam relieves the load on the application and optimizes the performance of the device.
  • Control over privacy. Users have more control over their messages. But if you need commercial messages, it is better to turn this feature off.

3. Enable/disable the feature#

You can enable this feature by going to Settings -> Privacy -> Advanced -> Block unknown account messages.

Block unknown in WA UI

4. Automatically enable the feature#

WhatsApp will automatically enable the "Block messages from unknown accounts" setting when it receives a large amount of spam and will block spam messages and messages from unknown accounts.

Block unknown in WA UI auto

Only the user can turn off this feature if they decide that this measure is unnecessary. To disable the feature, go to the Settings menu - Advanced.

When sending a large number of advertising messages, there is a risk of getting a ban on your WhatsApp account. How to avoid this, or how to unblock a banned account, is described in our article “Reduce the risk of blocking in WhatsApp: key rules”.

5. Conclusion#

The WhatsApp messenger has implemented a new function for blocking messages from unknown numbers, which is aimed at increasing security and optimizing the application. As noted earlier, this function is already available in the WhatsApp application. If there is a large amount of incoming spam, WhatsApp will automatically enable this setting.