WhatsApp ‘exits’ accounts of J&K users

NEW DELHI: The four-month-long internet shutdown in Jammu & Kashmir has resulted in many WhatsApp users losing access to their accounts.

As per WhatsApp’s global policy, accounts that remain unused for 120 days are automatically deactivated. As J&K completed exactly 120 days of internet blackout on Wednesday, residents woke up to find themselves checked out of their accounts and groups.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told TOI this was not a J&K-specific feature, but a policy for all inactive accounts. “To maintain security and limit data retention, WhatsApp accounts generally expire after 120 days of inactivity. When that happens, those accounts automatically exit all WhatsApp groups. People will need to be re-added to groups upon regaining access to the internet and joining WhatsApp again,” the spokesperson said.