Report WhatsApp spam and block ad bots

Whether advertising for erotic sites or brazen phishing attempts – spam messages in WhatsApp are seldom wanted and can even be dangerous if careless. Therefore, you should not only block the spammer account, but also report the spam sender to WhatsApp. In this way, the messenger service can react and prevent the spambot from sending further messages to other users.

But how do you deal with WhatsApp spam correctly? In this guide for the Android and iOS versions of WhatsApp, we explain how to report spam and block unwanted contacts.

What are the consequences of the “block” function in WhatsApp?

Before you get started, you should of course be aware of the consequences of the “Block” and “Report spam” functions in Whatsapp. A blocked contact can no longer see their own status reports, “last online” time stamp and information about the online / offline status.

In addition, the blocked contact can no longer send you messages or they are no longer displayed in group chats. Don’t worry: you can undo the blocking!

If you select the “Report Spam” option, the contact will be blocked in the same way as described above. However, it is also reported to WhatsApp. The messenger provider then uses this information to identify and remove spam bots from the traffic. Of course, various factors are taken into account here; the sole notification by an individual does not result in the WhatsApp account being blocked.

WhatsApp spam: report and block unknown contact

If you receive spam messages from unknown WhatsApp contacts, the messenger offers an immediate remedy. The following procedure works in the same way on Android and iOS:

1. Open the chat with the unknown number.
2. Tap “Contact / Report Spam”
3. In the window that opens, confirm your decision with “Report and block.”
4. Finished!

WhatsApp spam: report bot in group

It is a special case if the spam bot is up to mischief in a WhatsApp group. Then the corresponding buttons do not appear directly in the chat. In this case, proceed as follows on Android and iOS:

1. Open the group chat in WhatsApp and there the group info.
2. Find the phone number or contact of the spam sender in the list of participants.
3. Tap the contact.
4. A popup will open. Click here on “Info” to display the contact details page in WhatsApp.
5. Scroll all the way down, tap the “Report contact” button and confirm the subsequent popup with “Report and block.”
6. Finished!

WhatsApp spam: Report and block known contact

If a contact from your contact list has been hijacked by a spam bot, you can of course block and report it. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the settings in WhatsApp.
2. Select the entry “Account” and then “Data protection”.
3. Open the “Blocked” field and then the button for “Add contact”.
4. Find the contact you want in the list and tap on it.
5. Finished! The contact appears on the list of blocked contacts.

Is it possible to undo the “report spam” in WhatsApp?

Of course it can happen that you accidentally report the wrong contact as spam and block it. Don’t worry: You can undo that – at least blocking the contact.

To do this, simply navigate to the list of blocked contacts as described above under “Whatsapp: Report and block known contact”, tap the incorrectly blocked contact, scroll all the way down and select “Share contact”.

Reading tip: Block and unblock WhatsApp contacts

However, you cannot easily undo the report of the contact as spam to WhatsApp. But don’t worry: if you accidentally report a friend contact as a spam bot, it shouldn’t cause any harm.

Only when a contact is reported by a large number of users should it appear on Whatsapp’s spam radar.