WhatsApp glitch accidentally bans accounts, lock out users worldwide: Meta restores affected accounts

Thousands of WhatsApp users worldwide on Monday locked out of their accounts due to platform’s automated moderation system. The system mistakenly flagged the account of legitimate users for review and suspended it. The issue emerged on August 3, Monday, left several users unable to receive or send messages for hours. It disrupted their personal conversations, business operations along with work communications. Also Read: 7 WhatsApp habits that affect your privacy

Meta-owned platform has acknowledged the error and confirmed that the company has started restoring access to affected accounts. However, the tech giant has not yet disclosed the exact cause behind the glitch and suspension of accounts. Also Read: WhatsApp working on Noise Cancellation feature: How it will make your calls clearer in noisy places

WhatsApp users found their accounts ‘Under Review’

The disruption started from Monday evening and reports started pouring in around 8:00 PM IST. Regional users were suddenly logged out of WhatsApp and greeted with a message saying that their account was “under review.

The notification in-app alerted users that WhatsApp has started its review of activity on the account and device and decided if it has breached the terms of service of the platform. It also stated that reviews usually take less than 24 hours and that users would be directed to a general responsible use of the platform and compromised account help page.

The notice, however, failed to indicate the reason for the review and left many users confused and frustrated.

Social media platforms, including X and Threads, quickly filled with complaints from users who insisted they had done nothing wrong.

Some of the common screenshots displayed the review screen, and some even called for WhatsApp’s assistance.

Meta confirms the glitch and automated moderation error

In response to the many complaints, Meta told TechCrunch that the locks were the result of its automatic content moderation features misidentifying legitimate accounts as spam or abusive content.

A WhatsApp spokesperson, however, said the company is constantly trying to identify fraudulent accounts to ensure that the platform remains safe, but noted that “mistakes can occur.”

” Our goal is always to be one step ahead of those who want to abuse our service to ban accounts so that everyone can use it safely, sometimes we miss the mark and when we do, we work to remedy it as soon as possible to get everyone back to chatting.”

Meta said it has done everything in its power to restore access to affected accounts, but it didn’t say how or explain why the false suspensions were made, nor did it disclose the geographic regions with the greatest number of such incidents.

Disruptions highlight WhatsApp importance in today’s digital era

Even a modest human error in moderating the content can impact thousands of people around the world in minutes, given its massive user base of over 3 billion monthly users.

The temporary lockouts were particularly problematic in places such as India, where WhatsApp is used far more than just for personal messages. The platform powers millions of people with office communications, customer support, online businesses, school groups, community updates and digital payments.

The loss of access for just a few hours for many users meant lost work, delayed customer response, and missed conversations.

Reason behind why legitimate accounts can get suspended or flagged

Automated systems are key to WhatsApp’s success in detecting suspicious activity, such as spam, bulk messaging, fake accounts, and other violations of its policies.

These systems are meant to limit user abuse, but automated moderation can sometimes result in false positive, putting legitimate accounts in for manual or automated review for some period of time.

Meta has yet to explain what caused the issue—the company did not say whether it was a software bug, a shift in its moderation algorithms, or something else. It is also unknown how many accounts were compromised, and if there were any regional issues.

What you can do if your account is suspended

If your account is under review, nothing much for you to do other than wait for WhatsApp to verify your account. Users affected by the review will be notified when the process is finished, and Meta has already started to roll back incorrectly stopped accounts, the company writes.

Users who have not yet received access should not submit another appeal or create duplicate accounts as the review process is currently being conducted.

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Alternative Messaging Apps other than WhatsApp

1. One of the most used alternatives worldwide is Telegram, a cloud-based messaging service that allows users to send voice and video messages, channels, and messages to groups of up to 2000 users.
2. Zoho’s Arattai is a messaging service that provides end-to-end encryption, voice and video calling, multilingual support, and data storage facilities in accordance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.
3. JioChat, along with integration with JioMart and JioPay, a convenient service for users within the Jio ecosystem.