If users do not wish to receive messages or calls from specific contacts on Whatsapp, they can block them. This can be due to several reasons. For example, there may be a business account that spams the user on a daily basis. Or, users may receive an SMS from an unknown number and are not comfortable moving the conversation forward. Whatever the reason or situation, WhatsApp allows users to block other accounts on the platform, both personal and professional.
More recently, WhatsApp announced Communities, a new feature that will allow users to combine multiple groups into one large community. WhatsApp Communities admins will have the ability to create new groups or add existing groups to a community. Additionally, admins will have the power to send announcements to all community groups at once and delete messages sent by other users as well. Along with Communities, WhatsApp will also increase the file transfer size limit to 2 GB in the coming days.
Although these are valuable features, let’s talk about blocking a contact on WhatsApp. Android users can block contacts on WhatsApp simply by opening the chat, tapping the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the screen, selecting “More” from the drop-down menu, and tapping “Block ”. On iOS, users need to open the contact’s profile, locate the “Block Contact” option, and select “Block” from the available options. Additionally, Android and iOS users can go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Blocked > Add New to add a specific contact to their block list.
What happens when a user is blocked?
The contact will not be able to send the user text messages (including media files such as photos or videos) or add the user to voice or video calls. Additionally, the blocked contact will not see the user’s profile picture, last seen, status updates, or any other profile changes. However, users should also keep in mind that once they block a WhatsApp contact, they will also not be able to text the contact. It is essential to mention that whenever a user receives a message from an unknown number on WhatsApp, the app displays two options in the chat – “block” and “add”.
Blocking a contact is an easy way to get rid of unnecessary messages or spam on WhatsApp. If users feel they have encountered a spam account with malicious intent, they can report the contact to WhatsApp. In this case, Whatsapp receives the last five messages sent by the reported account to investigate the issue. Users can block the account while reporting it to stop receiving messages in the future. If at any point users feel like unblocking the contact, they can locate the contact in the “Blocked” section in “Settings” and tap “Unblock.”
Source : Whatsapp (1, 2)