WhatsApp has a worrying glitch that lets blocked contacts message you
WhatsApp has started allowing users to send messages to people who have blocked them, and people are − understandably − not best pleased.
Some sort of glitch appears to be to blame and, judging from the sheer number of user complaints we’ve spotted on Twitter, the issue doesn’t seem to be restricted to a tiny handful of people.
The issue was first spotted by WABetaInfo, which describes it as “critical”, and says it affects both iOS and Android users.
The bug essentially renders WhatsApp’s blocking functionality useless. As the company’s website explains, when you’re blocked:
- You can no longer see a contact’s last seen or online in the chat window
- You can’t see updates to a contact’s profile photo
- Any messages sent to a contact who has blocked you will always show one check mark (message sent), and never show a second check mark (message delivered)
- Any calls you attempt to place will not go through
For the time being, none of the above is happening. Blocked users are, temporarily, at least, able to successfully send messages, view the profiles of the people who have blocked them and see their “last seen” time.
While many people simply use the feature to dodge annoying people, others have more serious concerns, and rely on blocking to shield them from people they have good reason to avoid.
If you do receive a message from a contact you’ve blocked, you can continue to ignore them simply by muting the conversation.
WhatsApp is yet to officially acknowledge the bug, but we’ll keep you updated when we hear more.
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