WhatsApp menace: Survey finds 95% app users receive pesky calls, unsolicited commercial messages

Unsolicited calls and messages on WhatsApp have become a major issue. While the company and the government are trying hard to find a fix, it seems that the businesses on the chat app remain undeterred. A new survey conducted by online survey firm LocalCircles has revealed that a majority of WhatsApp users in India are being troubled by unsought calls and messages on the chat app.

The survey which received over 51,000 responses from citizens located in 351 districts of India and was conducted between February 1 and 20, revealed that about 76% of 12,215 WhatsApp users in India witnessed an increase in pesky or unsolicited commercial messages based on their conversations with WhatsApp business accounts and their activity on Facebook or Instagram.

Of the total respondents, almost 95% said that they receive one or more pesky messages each day, with 41% receiving four or more. On being asked how do these respondents handle those senders who send promotional or spam messages on WhatsApp, a majority (73%) of them said they exercise block the numbers sending spam messages, about 3% said they archive such chats and 5% indicated that they mute them while 19% just ignore such messages. Despite these measures, the spam messages continue to be consistent problem with senders either switching their numbers or that there are simply too many of them.

A Meta spokesperson told PTI that WhatsApp has built systems to suspend a business from sending messages when people provide feedback about a low-quality experience. Businesses are also limited to sending a certain number of messages per day, and users have the option to opt out of receiving certain types of messages directly within the chat.

The issue of unsolicited commercial messages has been a problem in India for some time, with the government implementing regulations and guidelines to address the issue. In 2018, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) introduced the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, which required businesses to obtain consent from users before sending promotional messages. Subscriber can revoke the consent at any point of time.