WhatsApp admits some 'genuine users wrongly flagged' in account reviews

WhatsApp has acknowledged that some genuine users may have been mistakenly caught in its latest account verification exercise after several accounts, including many in India, were unexpectedly placed under review for as long as 24 hours. The Meta-owned messaging platform said the review mechanism is part of its ongoing efforts to detect misuse and protect users, but conceded that legitimate accounts can occasionally be flagged by mistake. "We are always working to stay ahead of those trying to abuse our service and ban accounts to help keep other users safe. Sometimes we get this wrong and if we do, we try to fix it as quickly as possible to get people back to chatting," the company said in a statement.

Safety checks triggered reviews

According to WhatsApp, the review process is designed to identify accounts suspected of violating its policies. The company said accounts that are found to have been flagged incorrectly are restored once the verification process is complete. The issue first came to light on Monday evening when users began reporting notifications stating that their accounts were "under review". The message informed users that WhatsApp was examining account activity and device information to verify compliance with its Terms of Service, adding that the process would generally be completed within 24 hours. The review page also directed users to information on responsible use of the platform, along with resources for dealing with stolen devices and compromised accounts.

Users report disruption

Several affected users took to social media, claiming they had been locked out despite using the official version of the WhatsApp application. Many said the temporary restrictions disrupted both personal conversations and work-related communication, leading to widespread calls for the company to restore access without delay.

Media-sharing outage follows

The account review issue was followed within hours by another disruption on the platform. Early on Tuesday, users in several countries reported being unable to send images and videos through WhatsApp, although some said media sharing continued to function on WhatsApp Web. Downdetector registered a sharp spike in complaints during the early hours, with messaging and media-sharing problems accounting for most of the reports.

WhatsApp has not said whether the temporary account reviews and the subsequent media-sharing outage are related. The company has so far not provided any further explanation on the cause of either issue.