WhatsApp has said it banned 74.52 lakh Indian accounts in the month of April this year. The revelations are a part of its India monthly report which the messaging app publishes on the first day of every month in accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Meta-owned messaging platform in a statement said it deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behaviour. It said the company is focused on prevention as it believes it is much better to stop harmful activity from happening in the first place than to detect it after harm has occurred.
“This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform. As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 7.4 million accounts in the month of April and over 2.4 million of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users”, a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
As per Meta, 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.
{{/usCountry}}As per Meta, 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.
{{/usCountry}}On June 1, WhatsApp unveiled its new global Security Centre which it is said acts as a one-stop shop for users to learn more about how to protect themselves against spammers and unwanted contact.
The new page will be available in English and ten Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
The security features highlighted include two-step verification, spotting common scams, avoiding fake versions of WhatsApp and group controls.
Last month, WhatsApp launched an integrated safety campaign ‘Stay Safe with WhatsApp’ in India highlighting product features that empower users to take control of their online safety and ensure a safer messaging experience, the app said in a statement.