WhatsApp Blocks Accounts Under 24-Hour Review Amid Media Sharing Outage

WhatsApp temporarily blocked multiple accounts in India and globally on Monday. The platform placed these profiles under a 24-hour review starting around 8 pm IST on August 3, 2026.

Simultaneously, a global outage left thousands of users unable to send media files, including photos, videos and stickers. The disruption peaked around 6:45 pm EDT on DownDetector.

A WhatsApp spokesperson addressed the unexpected account bans in remarks. The spokesperson said, "We are always working to stay ahead of those trying to abuse our service and ban accounts to help keep other users safe. Sometimes we get this wrong and if we do, we try to fix it as quickly as possible to get people back to chatting." An email seeking clarification from the company did not receive an immediate response, PTI reported.

Sudden Account Reviews

Affected users encountered an in-app prompt barring access to messaging features. The screen displayed a notification stating: "Account in review. Date requested: 3 Aug 2026. Your account activity and device info is being checked to make sure it follows our terms of service. We will notify you of the result typically within 24 hours." Below this message, the application provided options to learn about responsible WhatsApp usage and information regarding stolen phones and accounts.

Users quickly moved to social media platform X to flag the abrupt bans. One user posted, "My WhatsApp account has been disabled without any explanation. I have already submitted an appeal, but the review page only displays a generic message stating that it will 'typically be reviewed within 24 hours.' Help me urgently."

Another user, Saloni, posted on X, "My WhatsApp account was suddenly disabled without any warning. I only use the official app, and my work depends on WhatsApp. Please help. This was so unnecessary."

Media Sharing Disruption

Alongside the account suspensions, the platform recorded a surge in complaints on DownDetector. Users reported they could not send images, videos or stickers. One user wrote, "I can't send images nor videos." Another posted, "Cannot send media. I have another account on Apple and it seems unaffected. So it looks like it is an Android-only issue."

An account on X, WABetaInfo, warned users about a potential cause behind the glitch. The viral post said: "Please do not install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.31.2 update. A bug prevents users from sending media files. An upcoming update will fix this issue."

Meta has not confirmed whether this Android beta bug is directly linked to the wider global media outage.