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WhatsApp ban tracker: accounts banned in India, every month since 2021
WhatsApp publishes a report for India every month under the IT Rules, 2021. The news covers one month at a time. We put every report in one table, with the source for each number, so you can see the trend.
Updated 2026-11-10 · by the ChatDesq team
45.4 lakh
accounts banned in Sep 2026 (latest report)
66.2 lakh
average per month, last 12 reports
33.2 crore
total since May 2021 (59 reports)
28%
of Sep 2026 bans happened before any user complaint
What the reports show (up to the September 2026 report)
- Bans grew about four times, then fell. WhatsApp banned about 22 lakh Indian accounts a month in 2021 and about 23 lakh in 2022. It was about 64 lakh a month in 2023, 74 lakh in 2024 and 95 lakh in 2025 (in the months we found). In 2026 so far it is about 60 lakh a month.
- Most bans come after people complain. WhatsApp says only about 1 in 5 to 1 in 4 accounts banned in 2024-2026 were banned "before any reports from users". The rest were banned after the people being messaged reported them.
- Complaints to WhatsApp are rising fast. User complaints (grievances) went from about 500 a month in 2021 to 37,943 in September 2026, the highest so far. WhatsApp acted on 695 of them that month.
- More people now go to the government. Orders from the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) were in single digits most months in 2023 and 2024. WhatsApp reported 148 in August 2026 and 127 in September 2026.
Every report, with sources
| Report | Accounts banned | Before any complaint | User complaints received | Complaints acted on | GAC orders | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 45,40,300 | 12,93,500 | 37,943 | 695 | 127 | timesbull.com |
| Aug 2026 | 62,02,400 | 16,90,800 | 27,085 | 472 | 148 | medianama.com |
| Jul 2026 | 53,64,000 | 17,90,800 | 19,112 | 476 | 25 | medianama.com, chatmitra.com |
| Jun 2026 | 51,04,127 | 13,69,080 | 15,182 | 414 | 3 | medianama.com, chatmitra.com |
| May 2026 | 72,14,702 | 13,79,438 | 19,859 | 399 | 15 | medianama.com, chatmitra.com |
| Apr 2026 | 54,70,958 | 13,47,995 | 19,189 | 486 | 25 | republicworld.com, chatmitra.com |
| Mar 2026 | 59,78,096 | 13,76,357 | – | – | – | ground.news, chatmitra.com |
| Feb 2026 | 54,82,423 | 13,86,846 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Jan 2026 | 81,79,740 | 19,83,760 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Dec 2025 | 83,62,961 | 20,39,975 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Nov 2025 | 84,31,911 | 21,60,400 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Oct 2025 | 91,26,723 | 21,79,365 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Sep 2025 | 1,00,21,232 | 20,57,370 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Aug 2025 | 82,57,498 | 16,48,396 | – | – | – | chatmitra.com |
| Jul 2025 | – | – | – | – | – | not found yet |
| Jun 2025 | 98,70,000 | 19,70,000 | 23,596 | 1,001 | 11 | medianama.com, freepressjournal.in |
| May 2025 | – | – | – | – | – | not found yet |
| Apr 2025 | – | – | – | – | – | not found yet |
| Mar 2025 | 1,12,00,000 | – | – | – | – | commsrisk.com |
| Feb 2025 | 97,81,000 | 14,24,000 | – | – | – | onmanorama.com, businesstoday.in |
| Jan 2025 | 99,67,000 | 13,27,000 | 9,474 | 239 | 14 | inc42.com, indiatvnews.com |
| Dec 2024 | 90,89,000 | 13,00,000 | 6,750 | 48 | 3 | medianama.com |
| Nov 2024 | – | – | – | – | – | not found yet |
| Oct 2024 | – | – | – | – | – | not found yet |
| Sep 2024 | 85,84,000 | 16,58,000 | 8,161 | 97 | – | tele.net.in, medianama.com |
| Aug 2024 | 84,58,000 | 16,61,000 | 10,707 | 93 | 4 | inc42.com, medianama.com |
| Jul 2024 | 61,27,000 | – | 34,650 | – | 12 | medianama.com |
| Jun 2024 | 60,64,000 | – | 26,200 | – | 1 | medianama.com |
| May 2024 | 66,20,000 | 12,55,000 | 13,367 | 31 | 11 | tele.net.in, medianama.com |
| Apr 2024 | 71,82,000 | 13,02,000 | 10,554 | 6 | – | ptcnews.tv, medianama.com |
| Mar 2024 | 79,54,000 | 14,30,000 | 12,782 | 11 | 5 | indiatvnews.com, medianama.com |
| Feb 2024 | 76,28,000 | 14,24,000 | 16,618 | 22 | – | indiatvnews.com |
| Jan 2024 | 67,28,000 | 13,58,000 | 14,828 | 10 | 4 | indiatvnews.com, medianama.com |
| Dec 2023 | 69,34,000 | 16,58,000 | 16,366 | 13 | – | dtnext.in, siasat.com |
| Nov 2023 | 71,96,000 | 19,54,000 | 8,841 | 6 | 8 | indiatvnews.com, thelogicalindian.com |
| Oct 2023 | 75,48,000 | 19,19,000 | 9,063 | 12 | – | dtnext.in, tribuneindia.com |
| Sep 2023 | 71,11,000 | 25,71,000 | 10,442 | 85 | 6 | businesstoday.in |
| Aug 2023 | 74,20,748 | 35,06,905 | 14,767 | 71 | 1 | dtnext.in, tribuneindia.com |
| Jul 2023 | 72,28,000 | 31,08,000 | 11,067 | 72 | 5 | tele.net.in, telanganatoday.com |
| Jun 2023 | 66,11,700 | 24,34,200 | 7,893 | 337 | 1 | tele.net.in, indiatvnews.com |
| May 2023 | 65,08,000 | 24,20,700 | 3,912 | 297 | – | businesstoday.in |
| Apr 2023 | 74,52,500 | 24,69,700 | 4,377 | 234 | 2 | theweekendleader.com, businesstoday.in |
| Mar 2023 | 47,15,906 | 16,59,385 | 4,720 | 585 | 3 | newsdrum.in, theprint.in |
| Feb 2023 | 45,97,400 | 12,98,000 | 2,804 | 495 | – | businesstoday.in, theprint.in |
| Jan 2023 | 29,18,000 | 10,30,000 | 1,461 | 195 | – | tele.net.in, zeenews.india.com |
| Dec 2022 | 36,77,000 | 13,89,000 | 1,607 | 166 | – | newsdrum.in, indiatvnews.com |
| Nov 2022 | 37,16,000 | 9,90,000 | 946 | 74 | – | thenewsminute.com, businesstoday.in |
| Oct 2022 | 23,24,000 | 8,11,000 | 701 | 34 | – | businesstoday.in |
| Sep 2022 | 26,85,000 | 8,72,000 | 666 | 23 | – | fonearena.com, wionews.com |
| Aug 2022 | 23,28,000 | 10,08,000 | 598 | 19 | – | scroll.in, madhyamamonline.com |
| Jul 2022 | 23,87,000 | 14,16,000 | 574 | 27 | – | businesstoday.in, thenewsminute.com |
| Jun 2022 | 22,10,000 | – | 632 | 64 | – | theprint.in, zeenews.india.com |
| May 2022 | 19,10,000 | – | 528 | 24 | – | tribuneindia.com, theweekendleader.com |
| Apr 2022 | 16,66,000 | – | 844 | 123 | – | zeenews.india.com, outlookbusiness.com |
| Mar 2022 | 18,05,000 | – | 597 | 74 | – | theweek.in, businesstoday.in |
| Feb 2022 | 14,26,000 | – | 335 | 21 | – | zeenews.india.com, inc42.com |
| Jan 2022 | 18,58,000 | – | 495 | 24 | – | theweek.in, inc42.com |
| Dec 2021 | 20,79,000 | – | 528 | 24 | – | inc42.com, businesstoday.in |
| Nov 2021 | 17,59,000 | – | 602 | 36 | – | medianama.com |
| Oct 2021 | 20,69,000 | – | 500 | 18 | – | fonearena.com, businesstoday.in |
| Sep 2021 | 22,09,000 | – | 560 | 51 | – | thenewsminute.com |
| Aug 2021 | 20,70,000 | – | 420 | 41 | – | inc42.com, telanganatoday.com |
| 16 Jun – 31 Jul 2021 | 30,27,000 | – | 594 | 74 | – | indiatvnews.com, inc42.com |
| 15 May – 15 Jun 2021 | 20,11,000 | – | 345 | 63 | – | businesstoday.in, inc42.com |
"–" = not given in the coverage we found. ✓ = checked against WhatsApp's own report PDF. Figures come from WhatsApp's India monthly reports under the IT Rules, 2021, as reported by the news sites linked in each row; rows marked ✓ were checked against WhatsApp's own report PDF. Some months appear in only one source, and outlets sometimes round figures. Spotted an error? Email hello@chatdesq.com.
What this means if you use WhatsApp for business
Bans mostly follow reports, so the people you message decide whether your number survives. Messaging people who never agreed to hear from you, sending from bulk-sender apps, and sending offers too often all lead to reports. If you want to know where you stand, try the ban risk checker. If your number is already banned or restricted, here is how to appeal in India.
Need to message many customers? Do it the official way.
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How we built this
- Each row is one of WhatsApp's India monthly reports under the IT Rules, 2021. The first one covered 15 May to 15 June 2021; since August 2021 each report covers one calendar month.
- Numbers come from the news reports linked in each row (MediaNama, Business Today, India TV, The News Minute, Inc42 and others). Where outlets disagree, we note it in the CSV. Rows marked ✓ have been checked against WhatsApp's own report.
- A few months are missing because we couldn't find a reliable report of them yet. We leave them blank instead of guessing.
- We update the tracker when each new report is out, usually about five weeks after the month ends.
- The data is free to use under CC BY 4.0: credit ChatDesq and link to this page. Download the CSV or JSON.
Questions
- How many WhatsApp accounts are banned in India every month?
- In the latest report (September 2026), WhatsApp banned 45.4 lakh Indian accounts. Over the last 12 reports we found, the average is about 66 lakh a month. The table above has every month since 2021.
- Why does WhatsApp publish these numbers?
- India's IT Rules, 2021 require large social media platforms to publish a compliance report every month. WhatsApp's report gives the accounts it banned, the complaints it received and what it did about them.
- What does "banned before any reports from users" mean?
- WhatsApp says it finds some abusive accounts itself, for example when a number registers or starts sending in bulk, and bans them before anyone complains. The rest are banned after users report them.
- What is the Grievance Appellate Committee?
- A committee set up by the Government of India under the IT Rules. If you disagree with how a platform's Grievance Officer handled your complaint, you can appeal to it online at gac.gov.in within 30 days.
- Can I use this data?
- Yes. It is free under CC BY 4.0. Credit ChatDesq and link to this page. If you spot an error, email hello@chatdesq.com.
Sources
- WhatsApp: India monthly reports (official)
- Grievance Appellate Committee (Government of India)
- MediaNama: WhatsApp banned 62 lakh Indian accounts in August 2026
Related
WhatsApp number banned or restricted in India? How to appeal, step by stepBanned or restricted on WhatsApp? The 3 steps that work in India: in-app review, WhatsApp's Grievance Officer, then the government's appeal committee. Free letter writer.Will this broadcast get my WhatsApp number banned?Answer 9 quick questions about how you send WhatsApp messages and see your ban risk, the reasons, and what to change. Free, no sign-up, nothing is stored.