WhatsApp banned over 5.36 million Indian accounts in July
WhatsApp banned 5.36 million accounts in India in July, but actioned fewer than 3% of user grievances received. The majority of bans were proactive and automated.
Messaging service WhatsApp banned 5.364 million accounts in India in July 2026, according to its monthly compliance report under the country's IT intermediary rules. During the same period, the company addressed only 476 of the 19,112 user grievances it received, indicating a low resolution rate for formal complaints.
The report highlights that WhatsApp primarily relies on automated and proactive detection to remove accounts, with its formal grievance redressal channel handling a small fraction of issues. Of the total accounts banned, approximately one-third, or 1.79 million, were removed proactively before any user reports were filed.
Out of the 19,112 reports received through the formal grievance mechanism, only 476 resulted in action, representing a success rate of about 2.5%. The largest categories of complaints involved ban appeals, with 9,877 reports leading to 107 accounts being actioned, and other support requests, where 8,704 reports resulted in 369 actions. Zero actions were reported for account support, product support, and safety complaints via the official channel.
WhatsApp clarified that safety complaints are not processed through the grievance channel but are directed to in-app reporting. While these are not recorded as "action taken" in the official process, internal actions may still occur. The company also stated that appeals for banned accounts are only counted as actioned if the appeal is granted.
This transparency filing comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute between WhatsApp and the Indian government over a proposed rule requiring traceability of message origins. WhatsApp has argued that compliance would necessitate breaking end-to-end encryption and has indicated it might leave the Indian market, its largest by user base, rather than comply.