WhatsApp blocked 2m accounts for breaking tough new rules

LONDON: WhatsApp has gone on a blocking spree, purging millions of its two billion users for breaking a little-known rule on the app intended to stop the spread of hoaxes, foreign media reported.

Over two million accounts have been blocked from WhatsApp in just one month for violating the rule. The company said it had targeted users who were found to be sending a “high and abnormal rate of messages”.

What counts as too many messages? Luckily, you’d have to work pretty hard to fall foul of the

rules. The company said over 95% of the bans were “due to the unauthorized use of automated or bulk messaging”, not regular texting.

Almost all the banned accounts are in India, WhatsApp’s biggest market with over 400 million users.