WhatsApp Channels Guidelines
Last updated: February 16, 2024
WhatsApp Channels is an optional, one-way broadcasting feature within WhatsApp, separate from private messaging, designed to help people follow information from people and organizations that are important to them. Channel admins should be mindful of the following guidelines (these “Channels Guidelines”) so their updates are appropriate for a general audience. By using WhatsApp Channels, you agree to these Channels Guidelines and our Supplemental Terms of Service for WhatsApp Channels.
Channel admins should be respectful of their followers and avoid sending too many or low-quality updates, which could lead recipients to unfollow their channel. Channel admins should provide a title for their channel that reflects the channel content and helps users make informed choices about which channels they choose to follow.
WhatsApp may take action against channels that violate the following Channels Guidelines:
- Do not share illegal content or engage in illegal activity. This includes content that sexually exploits or endangers children (including child sexual abuse material), or that supports violent extremist or criminal organizations or individuals. Channels should not facilitate the exploitation of people, including through human trafficking, or share content that depicts, threatens, or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault, or sexual exploitation. Do not share intellectual property you do not have a right to use.
- Do not share content that could cause serious harm to people. This includes content that constitutes a credible threat to public or personal safety, incitement of violence, organization or coordination of violent or criminal activities, or that encourages suicide or self-injury.
- Do not engage in fraud. This includes activity or content that purposefully deceives, impersonates, or willfully misrepresents or otherwise scams, defrauds, or exploits WhatsApp or our users.
- Keep content age-appropriate for all WhatsApp users. For example, Channels should not include imagery that is excessively violent or graphic, or that contains sexually explicit content or pornography, as restricted by app stores. Channels should not be used to facilitate commercial sexual services, or to offer and/or transact in regulated or restricted goods.
How We Apply the Channels Guidelines
WhatsApp may take action, utilizing automated tools, human review, and user reports, to detect abuse of these Channels Guidelines. We encourage users to report any channel or specific updates within a channel that potentially violate these Channels Guidelines. You can learn more about how to report a channel on WhatsApp here. For information on how to report potential intellectual property violations, please see here.
Automated Processing
Automated data processing is central to our review process and automates decisions for certain areas where Channels content is highly likely to violate these Channels Guidelines.
Automation also helps us prioritize review by routing potentially violating channels to human reviewers who have the right subject matter and language expertise, so our teams can focus on the most important cases first.
Human Review Teams
When a channel requires further review, our automated systems send it to a human review team to make the final decision. Our human review teams are located across the globe, receive in-depth training, and often specialize in certain policy areas and regions. Our automated systems learn and improve from each decision.
Local Law Violations
WhatsApp reviews and responds to valid legal orders from authorities in countries where we operate. We may also receive court orders to restrict WhatsApp Channels. We always assess the legitimacy and completeness of a government request before taking any action.
Actions We May Take
When we detect illegal content or a violation of our terms and policies, we may take action, including the following, and depending on the nature of the content or violation:
WhatsApp will suspend channels if admin(s) repeatedly post content that violates our terms and policies, including illegal content. The decision to suspend a channel will depend on the amount, nature, and severity of the violating content, and, if identifiable, the intent of the user.
We may take additional actions as reflected in the Supplemental Terms of Service for WhatsApp Channels.
Channels Complaints Handling Process
Channels Enforcement: As described above, we may take action on channels when we determine those channels go against our terms or policies, including these Channels Guidelines. If you disagree with a decision we have made, you can appeal that decision from within your Channels info page. You may also submit an appeal through WhatsApp support here. If we determine that our decision was in error, we will reverse the enforcement.
Account Disables: If we disable your account for a violation of these Channels Guidelines or Terms of Service, you may appeal that decision as described here.
If you disagree with a content decision we have made on Channels and are a user in the EU, you can raise that decision with a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body in order to resolve the issue.
User Reports: If you report content posted by others but we find that the content does not go against our terms or policies, we will let you know. If you disagree with a decision we have made, you can appeal that decision. If we determine that our decision was in error, we will reverse the enforcement.