How to block spam messages on WhatsApp

Pretty much every medium we use to communicate will be vulnerable to spam at some point or another. Texts, emails, social media, and messaging apps. Yep, even WhatsApp.

Spam messages, beyond being super freaking annoying, are potentially harmful in that spammers often try to get you to divulge your personal information, or click on dangerous links. It’s so hard to find ways to protect yourself from spam completely, but here are some things you can do to prevent and block spam on WhatsApp.

Block or report a contact

1. Go to the message thread that contains the spam message (be careful not to click on any links within the message).

2. Tap on the contact at the very top of the page.

3. Tap “Block Contact” at the bottom (to block) and “Report Contact” (to report).

Find “block contact” and “report contact” at the bottom.
Credit: Screengrab: whatsapp

4. Then tap “Block” again (or “Report again) when prompted. You can also just tap “Report Contact” and you’ll have the option to do both at once by tapping “Report and Block”

Adjust your privacy settings

1. Navigate to your WhatsApp settings.

2. Tap “Account.”

Find your account settings.
Credit: screengrab: whatsapp

3. Tap “Privacy” at the top.

4. In your privacy settings, you can control who can see your online status, profile photo, “Last Seen,” and your “About” section, as well as who can add you to groups.

Check out your privacy settings.
Credit: screengrab: whatsapp

5. Edit these settings to your liking by tapping each one and choosing either “Everyone,” “My Contacts,” or “Nobody” — “Nobody” obviously gives you the most privacy while “Everyone” gives you the least.

We know it can sometimes be hard to tell if a message is spam or not. Sometimes it’s obvious, but other times the message can look totally authentic, which of course, is by design. WhatsApp offers some helpful information about what spam messages can look like and how to spot them. You can find that info by going to the “spam and unwanted messages” section of the WhatsApp Help Center.