WhatsApp has a very strict policy of banning accounts who violate its rules. We have seen people forwarding messages marked as spam in some countries. But soon, the messaging app will have the option of restricting users from starting a new chat temporarily. The new feature is under development and we expect the beta version to get it soon.
It seems the Meta-owned platform has realised that banning accounts for all reasons isn’t right, so bringing a short-time restriction for some accounts could help people realise their mistakes and get access to their account in a shorter time frame.
WhatsApp Account Restriction: How It Could Affect Users
The details shared by WeBetaInfo about this upcoming feature talks about the ability to reply to other chats but cannot start a new chat with anyone. The people who are restricted on WhatsApp will be seeing a pop-up box whenever they try to chat with another person.
The messaging app will also inform them that their account has been restricted because of sending spam, automated or bulk messages.
“When an account is restricted from WhatsApp, users won’t be able to start new chats for a certain amount of time as a temporary penalty for specific violations. However, it seems that restricted users will still be able to receive messages and reply to them from existing chats and groups, ensuring essential communication isn’t entirely cut off,” the tipster pointed out in the post.
As we mentioned earlier, WhatsApp banning accounts feels like an extreme measure, which makes them lose their data and chat history. Restricting accounts keeps them engaged on the platform and gives them a lesson to operate on the app by following all its rules. We could see the feature being tested with WhatsApp Android beta users in the next few weeks which will give us a better idea of how the restriction mode will work.
