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How to block and avoid spammers in a WhatsApp group
Short answer: when a spammer posts in your WhatsApp group, report them and block them, and delete their posts. To avoid it happening again, open the group, go to Group settings > Group permissions and turn on Approve new members. From then on, nobody can add themselves: you approve every new member.
When you have your own group in WhatsApp, you are going to get spammers. In this video I show you how I filter them in my own groups, and how I handle them in my WhatsApp community.
Why spam in a WhatsApp group is a problem
If you manage a group, you know how fast spam links and fake accounts can ruin it. Spam in a group is not only annoying; it can be dangerous for your members, especially when the messages carry fake links. People join your group to participate, ask questions and get your updates, and every crypto or Bitcoin scam that lands there makes the group less useful for them.
The good news is that WhatsApp gives group admins the tools to fix it: you can remove and report a spammer, and you can control who can join in the first place. With a few changes your WhatsApp group stays clean and useful for the people who are really there to participate.
Report, block and delete the spam
The main thing you can do when a spammer shows up is to report them, and then block them. Do both. Besides that, you can also delete the posts they left in the group, of course.
That cleans up the problem once, but it does not stop the next one. For that, you need to change a group setting.
Turn on Approve new members
- Open the group (in the video I use my Spanish group).
- Tap the group name to open its info.
- Go to Group settings and then Group permissions.
- Turn on Approve new members.
That's it. All those people who were adding themselves are not going to be able to add themselves anymore. The only way in is that you approve them.
Review join requests and spot suspicious numbers
When someone new wants to join, you will see it in that section, for example "review 3 people". In my case I accept everyone, except when I see numbers starting with +234, which is the country code for Nigeria, where many of the spammers in my groups come from.
Something weird: sometimes you will see a +234 number, but when you open the list you will see a second number underneath it. It looks like a scam number, or maybe they are doing something fishy with WhatsApp. Reviewing requests is the best way to do it, and then you are not going to have any issues.
Spammers inside a WhatsApp community
I also have community links. People can join the community, but they are not able to write anything there, so I don't care: they are just going to see my links and my announcements. That is not a big deal.
If you want, you can still remove them. Go to the community, open the list of members, pick the person (for example someone with a +234 number) and choose remove from community. Very simple.
In my case I don't mind if they stay in the community, because they only receive my announcements, but I don't allow them into my groups, so they cannot advertise their Bitcoin, crypto scam or anything like that.
Quick checklist
- Report and block every spammer, and delete their posts.
- Turn on Approve new members in Group permissions.
- Review each join request and look carefully at numbers that look suspicious, like the +234 numbers with a second number underneath.
- Keep community members read-only, and remove anyone you don't want from the community member list.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments of the video.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop people from adding themselves to my WhatsApp group?
Open the group, go to Group settings > Group permissions and turn on Approve new members. After that, an admin has to approve each new member.
What should I do when a spammer posts in my group?
Report them and block them, and delete the spam posts from the group.
How do I remove a spammer from a WhatsApp community?
Open the community, go to the members list, select the person and choose remove from community.
Can spammers post in my WhatsApp community?
In my community, members can join but they cannot write anything; they only see my links and announcements.