WhatsApp is testing a new restriction to reduce spam by limiting how many messages individuals and businesses can send to people who have not replied to them. The move is part of the company’s broader effort to make chats more manageable and improve user experience as the platform grows beyond personal messaging.
According to a TechCrunch report, all outgoing messages to people who haven’t responded will now count toward a monthly limit. For example, if someone meets a new contact at an event and sends three messages without getting a reply, those messages will be deducted from their total allowance. Once users approach the limit, WhatsApp will issue a warning through a pop-up showing how many messages have been sent so far.
WhatsApp hasn’t revealed the exact limit yet, as the feature is still in testing across multiple countries. The company says that most regular users are unlikely to be affected, as the goal is primarily to stop businesses and spammers who send mass messages to unknown recipients.
Over time, WhatsApp has evolved into a multi-purpose communication platform, integrating features such as communities, channels, and business messaging. However, these changes have also led to an increase in message volume and spam. In markets like India, which has over 500 million users, it’s common for people to find dozens of unread messages from unknown numbers or business accounts.
This isn’t the first time WhatsApp has tested spam controls. In July 2024, it began experimenting with limits on how many marketing messages businesses could send per month. Around the same time, it introduced the ability for users to unsubscribe from marketing updates, letting them receive support or order confirmations without being bombarded with promotions. Earlier this year, WhatsApp also started testing limits on broadcast messages, gradually expanding that experiment to more than a dozen countries.
These ongoing efforts suggest that WhatsApp is tightening its moderation tools to balance business engagement with user privacy and convenience. As testing continues, the company is expected to fine-tune the limits based on user feedback and regional behavior before rolling out the change more widely.
