Phone and Tablet Tips
Brilliant things to do on your device
ANDROID & iOS
Block spam messages in WhatsApp
WhatsApp has introduced a new security feature that blocks messages from unknown accounts when they exceed a certain volume. This is designed to reduce spam and “help protect your account and improve device performance”.
The feature won’t block all messages from unfamiliar numbers, in case they’re from people you know but haven’t yet added to your Contacts. But it will prevent spammers and scammers from repeatedly targeting you with unsolicited messages.
WhatsApp should prompt you to turn on this new option when you receive a high volume of unknown messages, though it hasn’t revealed how many it regards as ‘high’. To block them automatically, go into WhatsApp’s Settings and tap Privacy, then Advanced. Switch on the option ‘Block unknown account messages’ (see screenshot below left) – don’t worry if you can’t see this yet, because it’s rolling out gradually.