WhatsApp: how to report unknown numbers

That WhatsApp has become the instant messaging application leader has its pros and cons: on the one hand you can be in direct contact with practically the entire social circle and on the other, exposes users to malicious individuals.

Recently, video calls from people who masturbate and randomly call numbers to display such sexual content have been detected. One of the cases was noticed by a user who made her complaint public by registering the unknown number +919769591821 from which they called her.

TechMarkup spoke with Meta and they explained that to avoid this type of event WhatsApp has reporting and blocking options. This is especially useful in situations of harassment, to avoid receiving undesired advertising or to alert you to the sending of pedophile material (among other serious cases).

“Certain contacts can be blocked from receiving your messages, calls and status updates on WhatsApp. They can also be reported if they are thought to be sending problematic content or spam. If you believe that you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services.” mention from whatsapp on their helpdesk website.

How to report a contact on WhatsApp

1. After receiving an unwanted message or video call, or verifying inappropriate attitudes on the part of any contact, you must open said conversation on WhatsApp and click on the name of the aforementioned.

2. Swipe down on the screen ‘Info. of contact’, and then select the option ‘ Report contact‘.

3. The platform warns that when reporting said contact, WhatsApp will receive the last 5 messages that this person has sent to verify the existence of abusive behavior. Said person will not be informed of the procedure under any circumstances.

Also, you can select the option ‘ Report and block‘, which will cause the chat to be suppressed in the device and will prevent the subject from contacting us again.

What happens when a user is reported on WhatsApp

According to the WhatsApp support page, the reported user’s account could be suspended if it is determined that you breached any of the terms of service. However, it is an extreme measure that will not always be put into practice.

“Keep in mind that even if we receive reports of behavior that violates our Terms of Service, we will not always suspend the account or take action against the user in question,” mentions the messaging application.

The latter makes the blocking option the most suitable, even though you can still see what said contact writes if you share a conversation group with him. In this case, WhatsApp asks not to form groups with people with whom you do not want to communicate.

Security and privacy settings in WhatsApp

Essential controls have been created in WhatsApp that can be adapted to the needs of users for their protection. The best is change some privacy settings To control who can see the account owner’s personal information:

– All: all WhatsApp users can see the profile picture, personal information or status of the user.

– My contacts: only the contacts saved in the phonebook cell phone they can see the last profile picture, the information section or the statuses of the user.

– My contacts, except…: only the contacts that have been saved in the phonebook of the telephoneExcept for contacts who have been excluded, they can see the user’s profile picture, personal information, or status.

– No one: no one can see the user’s profile picture, personal information or statuses.