WhatsApp is trying to solve the spam problem by limiting how many messages individual users and businesses can send to unknown people without receiving a response.
While the app started as an easy way to send messages to personal contacts, over time, it became more complex with groups, communities, and business messages. With these changes, people are getting more messages than ever and it’s hard to keep up with them all.
All messages users and businesses send to others will count against this new monthly limit unless they receive a reply. For example, if you meet someone at a conference and send three messages, that counts towards the limit.
WhatsApp has not said what the limit will be as it is testing different limits during this period.
However, when a business or individual is about to reach the limit, the app will display a warning to those users with a pop-up showing the count so they are not blocked from sending messages.
The company told TechCrunch that this test will go live in several countries in the coming weeks. It also said that average users usually don’t go over the limit and that the messaging experience won’t be affected. Instead, the controls are designed to be effective against people and businesses who spam and spam people.
When I look at my WhatsApp inbox, I often find over 50 unread messages. When I try to see who sent them, a number of them are from businesses and unknown individuals. People around me have had similar experiences as WhatsApp acts as a multipurpose communication tool for a market like India where I am based.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
27-29 October 2025
Over the past year, WhatsApp has tried to curb some of this unwanted behavior through tools and guardrails. In July 2024, the company began testing limits on how many marketing messages a business can send to individuals in a month. In 2024, an option for users to opt out of marketing messages from businesses began rolling out. This way, they can receive updates or receive support from a business without receiving spam.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp began experimenting with putting a limit on the number of broadcast messages that users and businesses can send to others. The company said it has begun expanding this experiment to more than a dozen countries, including India, one of the company’s biggest markets with over 500 million users.
