No, WhatsApp Isn't Permanently Banning Users
Just as before, you won't be able to use the service with third-party apps. If you do, WhatsApp won't let you access it until you uninstall them.
By David Murphy
Updated March 8, 2015
https://www.pcmag.com/news/no-whatsapp-isnt-permanently-banning-users
Banned for life from WhatsApp? Not quite. Before you throw your phone at the wall from the frustration of missing out on your favorite cross-platform messaging application, know that any reason that WhatsApp has for kicking you off its service isn't personal. You haven't done anything wrong—well, not really wrong. WhatsApp just doesn't like it when people use third-party apps to access its service. And when you do that, you don't get to use WhatsApp until you've fixed the issue.
According to TechCrunch, a number of reports have hit over the last week suggesting that WhatsApp is somehow investigating (or deploying) permanent account deletion as a means to thwart third-party apps (and users of third-party apps). That's not quite the case, though. WhatsApp hasn't actually changed its policy on third-party apps—or what happens when users attempt to access WhatsApp using third-party apps.
"Our goal is always to keep WhatsApp fast and secure for the people who use it – it's the most important thing we do. Third parties that have built unauthorized functionality on top of WhatsApp create issues for people including lost messages. This goes against the experience we work hard to give people and we won't let it continue. Starting today, we are taking aggressive action against unauthorized apps and alerting the people who use them. We will move these people over to WhatsApp so they can continue to communicate with friends and family reliably and safely," reads a January statement from WhatsApp.
Here's what happens: If (or when) WhatsApp detects that you're using a different app to access the service than WhatsApp's official app, then you can't use WhatsApp anymore. Once you uninstall said app, your access to WhatsApp will be restored after a few days or so.
Whatever confusion that exists is likely the result of WhatsApp shifting from showing users a countdown timer when they get temporarily banned from the service to simply, well, banning them. That timer may or may not appear for all users anymore, and it may or may not appear depending on how many times WhatsApp has previously warned a user about accessing the service with a third-party app.
In short, the best way to avoid being kicked off the WhatsApp service is to, as you might expect, just use official WhatsApp apps. Use third-party apps, and you run the risk of getting booted out of WhatsApp until you've removed those third-party apps from your device. It's as simple as that—you aren't banned for life, but you might get banned until you give in, and it might take a little bit of time to restore your access to the service once you've uninstalled the offending apps.
Signal Back Online Following Lengthy Outage, Though Error Messages Persist
WhatsApp Postpones Privacy Policy Update After Users Flee to Rival Services
Outage Hits Signal Messaging App Amid Huge Uptick in New App Downloads
Instacart Offers Employees $25 to Get COVID-19 Vaccine
More in Mobile Apps
Mobile App Reviews
Google Android 11
Marvel Unlimited
Adobe Illustrator on the iPad
Mobile App Best Picks
The 5 Best Alternatives to FaceTime for Android
The Best iPad Apps for 2020
The Best iPad Games for 2020
The Best Weather Apps for 2021
Keep an Eye on the Cops: The Best Police Scanner Apps
About David Murphy
David Murphy got his first real taste of technology journalism when he arrived at PC Magazine as an intern in 2005. A three-month gig turned to six months, six months turned to occasional freelance assignments, and he later rejoined his tech-loving, mostly New York-based friends as one of PCMag.com's news contributors. For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
Read the latest from David Murphy
Short Film Based on 'Papers, Please' Now Free for Streaming
Rumor: Apple Pondering Premium Branded Headphones
OnePlus' Fix for HD Streaming: Send In Your Smartphone
Google Employee Sells iMac, Can See its Location 3 Years Later
Pixel Owners Report Battery Life, Overheating Problems
More from David Murphy