WhatsApp has a chat moderation feature that lets you report suspicious conversations. The feature is intended to curb hate speech and misinformation in the platform, along with reducing spam. While the messaging app has allowed users to report contacts for a long time, WhatsApp is now rolling out the ability to report individual messages as well. So to give you a better look at how to tackle spam, abuse, or misinformation, we have compiled an in-depth guide on how to report WhatsApp messages.
Report Messages on WhatsApp: A Step-by-Step Guide (2021)
First spotted by tipster WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently testing the option to report individual messages in beta. It’s live on WhatsApp beta version 2.21.19.15 and newer. If you are not using the beta version, we have also added steps to report a contact, which in turn shares five recent messages with WhatsApp. So without further, let’s jump right in!
Why Should You Report WhatsApp Messages?
Reporting a WhatsApp message helps avoid unwanted interactions on the platform. You could report a message if it is problematic in nature or is a spam message. Once you submit a report, WhatsApp’s moderators will review it and may even ban the user if they violate the company’s Terms of Service.
Moreover, contrary to recent reports, reporting a spam message or contact doesn’t undermine WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) practice. The messaging app submits a copy of the last five messages of the contact you report. It does not share the entire chat history and break end-to-end encryption in any way.
How to Report Individual WhatsApp Messages
1. Open the conversation containing the potentially harmful or spam message. Here, long-press on the message and tap the three dots menu icon at the top-right corner to view more settings.
2. Press the new ‘Report’ option to proceed further. It’s worth mentioning that the Report option will appear only when you select a single message. Reporting multiple messages is not supported right now, but there’s a workaround in the next section.
3. A pop-up will now appear clarifying that the message will be forwarded to WhatsApp, but rest assured, it will not notify the said contact. Press the ‘Report’ button to flag the potentially harmful message. You can also choose to block the contact from right this screen by selecting the ‘Block contact’ checkbox.
How to Report a WhatsApp View Once Photo or Video
WhatsApp recently rolled out the option to send disappearing photos and videos called View Once to users worldwide. These photos and videos self-destruct once you have viewed the content. Now, if someone shares potentially sensitive or harmful content using View Once with you, report such photos and videos with ease. Follow the steps below:
1. Open a conversation window and long-press on a View Once message. Then, tap on the three dot menu icon on the top right corner of the screen. Select the ‘Report’ option here to share the contents of that disappearing message with WhatsApp.
2. From the pop-up message that appears, tap the ‘Report’ option once again to confirm your selection and report the user’s View Once content.
3. Alternatively, you can also report contacts while viewing the disappearing photo or video. Simply tap the three dot menu icon at the top right and select the ‘Report [contact name] option.
How to Report a WhatsApp Contact or Spam Chat
If a chat has multiple messages you would like to report, choose to report the contact instead. This way, the last five messages from the person will get forwarded to WhatsApp.
1. To get started, open the chat window, tap on the three dots menu icon, and choose ‘More’.
2. Then, tap on ‘Report’ and press ‘Report’ again from the pop-up that appears. You can block the contact and delete the conversation on your end by selecting the ‘Block contact and delete chat’ checkbox.
Extreme Measures: Block a Contact on WhatsApp
Now, if you are receiving spam texts, potentially harmful content via View Once, or other problematic content even after you have reported the WhatsApp contact and their messages in the past, it’s time to take extreme measures. You should block such contacts from WhatsApp, and we will teach you how to do that right here:
1. Open a conversation, tap on the three dot icon at the top right corner. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Menu’, followed by the ‘Block’ option.
2. From the pop-up menu that now appears, tap the ‘Block’ option. You can also choose to report the contact once again while blocking them at the same time by selecting the ‘Report and Block’ option.
3. Alternatively, you can tap on the contact’s name or phone number at the top and scroll down to the bottom to find the ‘Block’ option.
Report WhatsApp Messages in Easy Steps
You could consider reporting individual messages when it’s clearly a spam message. For other conversations, we suggest using the report contact option to report multiple messages at once would be a better option to give moderators some context. So yeah, considering it is in beta, it shouldn’t be long before the company brings the individual message reporting feature to all users via the stable version. Once you have reported the message, you can continue using all the best WhatsApp tricks, including the option to use WhatsApp as 2FA on Instagram.
