Outlook Business Desk
A LocalCircles survey found that nearly 96% of WhatsApp users in India get unwanted messages every day, showing how common spam has become and how users are constantly being bothered on the app.
Just 4% of over 13,000 respondents said they don’t get any promotional or spam messages on WhatsApp. The vast majority report receiving at least one unwanted message every day.
The survey showed 54% of respondents get one to three spam messages daily, 30% receive four to seven and 11% get eight or more, showing how frequent unwanted WhatsApp messages have become.
The survey comes as the Supreme Court criticised Meta Platforms and WhatsApp, saying they cannot compromise citizens’ privacy rights in the name of data sharing, highlighting growing legal concerns over user data protection.
The survey and community discussions reveal that most spam messages come from WhatsApp Business accounts, where senders pay to message users, often reaching them unchecked and without their consent.
Users said they receive spam from real estate, financial services, healthcare, and job offers. Others reported messages about repair services, beauty, gaming and mobile plans, showing the wide range of unsolicited texts on WhatsApp.
Out of 14,281 respondents, 71% reported real estate messages, 71% financial services, 46% healthcare, 44% job offers, 24% personal services, 19% online gaming, 11% mobile plans and 21% other spam categories.
To fight spam, 59% of users block the numbers sending messages, while others ignore them. Only 3% mute contacts, showing the steps users take to manage unwanted WhatsApp messages.