The popular messenger WhatsApp has very clear rules. Anyone who does not comply with this can lose their account forever. You can find them in the terms of use. TECHBOOK picked them out.
How can WhatsApp even check if someone breaks a rule? Very simple: Other users can report the misconduct using the “Report” function. Eight WhatsApp rules are particularly important in order to avoid permanent account blocking.
The most important WhatsApp rules at a glance
1. No calls for violence
Aggressive behavior such as threatening, harassing, intimidating and other hateful content are absolute no-go’s with the messenger app. WhatsApp threatens to react severely to “glorification of violence and crime”. A behavior that, by the way, can not only result in a blocking of the account in the future. Because a law was recently passed that will make such acts a criminal offense.
2. Malicious rumours, slander and fake news
Slander and “the publication of untruths, misrepresentations or misleading statements” are punished in a similarly impermissible manner as fake news. Incidentally, this WhatsApp rule does not only affect users who come up with such content. Distribution can also lead to account suspension if reported accordingly. So do not pass on such information without checking it.
3. Insults are not allowed
One of WhatsApp’s most important rules is that no content may be created that is in any way “obscene, offensive, […] Is racially or ethnically objectionable, or incites or encourages conduct that would be illegal or otherwise inappropriate […].” Here, too, such statements can also be relevant under criminal law.
4. The sending of chain letters is prohibited
Hardly any WhatsApp user should expect this: copying and forwarding “inadmissible messages such as mass messages” or chain letters is illegal and strictly prohibited in the WhatsApp rules. Especially at the height of the corona pandemic, fake news and rip-offs spread particularly quickly. In a specific example, some users played with fears of the virus.
5. No Identity Theft
Assuming someone else’s identity is not allowed on WhatsApp. Every user can create a name for his profile, which his contacts can see. The use of a clear name is not mandatory. A foreign real name in connection with a stolen photo can lead to blocking.
6. Minimum age of 16 on WhatsApp
EU citizens must be at least 16 years old to use the service. Some EU countries set their own age. In countries outside the European Union, the minimum age is only 13 years. Germany, however, is one of the EU countries with a 16-year rule. Younger users could be reported.
7. Only send your own photos
“Intellectual property or other proprietary rights” are sensitive and must not be violated. Accordingly, you may only send photos that you have produced yourself or to which you hold the rights. Not only part of the WhatsApp rules, but also of the law.
8. Spread malware
On the other hand, it is relatively obvious that WhatsApp will immediately block the accounts of users who are spreading viruses and malware. This could be the case as soon as you send messages and these attachments contain viruses. Even if you only forward these files (photos, videos, documents, etc.) and do not create them yourself. One of the most useful WhatsApp rules. So it is best to report such violations immediately.
Most violations go unpunished
As everyone should be aware, violating one of the WhatsApp rules does not immediately lead to an account suspension. Last but not least, a report is always required, which in most cases does not take place. While another user rarely becomes active when sending pictures, this can definitely happen with threats and insults. TECHBOOK advises to make a report of these offenses.