WhatsApp number banned? How to get it back, step by step

WhatsApp bans accounts it believes break its Terms of Service, for example through spam, scams or putting other users at risk. Most business bans come from how messages are sent rather than what they say.

The WhatsApp Terms of Service rule out “bulk messaging, auto-messaging, auto-dialing, and the like”, and using the service “through automated or other means” that WhatsApp has not authorised. In practice, these are the patterns that put a business number at risk:

• Messaging people who did not ask. Sending offers to numbers from a bought list, or to everyone in your phone, leads to blocks and reports.
• Unofficial apps and tools. Modified apps such as GB WhatsApp or WhatsApp Plus, and browser extensions or tools that automate the normal app to send in bulk.
• Adding people to groups without asking. Large groups of people who never agreed to join look like spam from the outside.
• Many blocks and reports in a short time. When someone reports a chat, WhatsApp receives recent messages from it to review, so a burst of reports draws attention fast.

The message on the screen tells you which route to take. There are three common situations, and each one has its own way back.

• “This account is not allowed to use WhatsApp”. A ban on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. You can request a review from this screen, which is covered in the next section.
• A temporary ban with a countdown. This has usually meant WhatsApp detected an unofficial app. WhatsApp’s advice has been to move to the official app before the timer runs out, since continuing on the unofficial one can lead to a permanent ban.
• A restriction in WhatsApp Manager or Business Support Home. Your WhatsApp Business API account has been limited or locked. The appeal happens inside Meta’s business tools, covered further down.

If you are on an unofficial app, back up your chats and move to the official app from whatsapp.com/download, the App Store or Google Play before doing anything else. WhatsApp cannot promise that chats move across from an unofficial app, so keep that backup.

To get a banned WhatsApp number back, open WhatsApp on the phone with that number and tap “Request a review” on the ban screen. WhatsApp then reviews the account, and if it decides the ban was a mistake, you can use the number again.

1. 1.Open WhatsApp on the banned phone. Use the same phone and number that show the ban message, so the review is attached to the right account.
2. 2.Tap “Request a review”. It appears on the screen that says the account is not allowed to use WhatsApp.
3. 3.Follow the prompts. WhatsApp may ask you to confirm the number with a code sent to it.
4. 4.Add a short explanation if there is a box for it. Say who you are and how you use the number. The section on what to write has an example.
5. 5.Submit once, then wait. WhatsApp says it reviews one phone number per appeal and that sending more requests does not speed it up. Reopen WhatsApp to check the result.

If there is no option to request a review, or the review is turned down, the decision is WhatsApp’s to make. WhatsApp’s account bans help page is the official source for what to do next.

A WhatsApp Business API account is appealed in Business Support Home, inside Meta Business Suite, not in the app. Meta’s policy enforcement guide says restrictions build up in steps the longer a problem continues:

• A one or three day block on sending marketing, utility and authentication templates
• A five, seven or 30 day block on all messages
• An account lock, which blocks all messages indefinitely and can only be removed by an appeal
• Permanent disabling, if the problems continue after several warnings

Severe harms, such as scams, can lead to immediate removal from the platform. To appeal, open Business Support Home, select the account, choose the violation and click Request Review, then add your supporting details. Meta says the decision typically takes 24 to 48 hours, and the violation is then either left unchanged or reversed. Meta also notes that not every spam violation can be appealed; for those, the restriction has to run its course.

Write a short, factual appeal that says who you are, how you use the number and why you believe the ban is a mistake. A reviewer reads many of these, so clear and calm works better than long and angry.

Only include what is true. If you did something that broke the rules, such as using an unofficial app or sending a broadcast to people who had not opted in, say that you have stopped and what you have changed.

The way to avoid the next ban is to message only people who asked to hear from you, and to send anything automated or in bulk through the official WhatsApp Business API rather than the normal app.

• Use only official apps or the API. No modified apps, and no tools that automate the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app.
• Get opt-in first. WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy expects people to have given you their number and agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. An opt-in checkbox on your forms covers this.
• Move broadcasts to the API. Approved templates, sent to opted-in customers, are the official route for updates and offers.
• Make it easy to say stop. Tell people how to opt out, and stop messaging them when they do.
• Stay inside your messaging limit. On the API, a new business portfolio can message 250 unique customers in a rolling 24 hours outside customer service windows, and the limit grows as quality stays high.

Read the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and Meta’s messaging limits once, and keep both in mind whenever you plan a campaign. If you would rather have it set up properly from the start, our WhatsApp automation team sets up the API with opt-in and approved templates, and our guide to the WhatsApp Business API explains how it differs from the app.