"This phone number can't use WhatsApp"?

Updated 21 October 2026

Why acting early matters: Ask WhatsApp for a review soon and keep the notice. For a ban over private messages, the EU six-month complaint window may not apply. The longer an account is down, the more followers, customers and conversations move on. See what is at stake

If WhatsApp shows "This phone number can't use WhatsApp", your number is banned. Screenshot the notice, then tap Request review in the app as soon as you can. WhatsApp's help pages say that if you don't see the option, the ban is final. If you live in the EU, you can also ask WhatsApp for your data and for its reasons.

What the notice means

WhatsApp's help pages give the full message as "This phone number can't use WhatsApp: [phone number]. You can request a review of this number." WhatsApp's help pages also call it "This account can't use WhatsApp". Both mean the same: WhatsApp has banned the account on that number.

WhatsApp says it bans accounts when it believes the activity breaks its terms. Its examples are spam, scams and putting other users at risk. In practice that often means messages sent to many people who don't have your number, automated messages, or an unofficial WhatsApp app.

While you are banned, WhatsApp's help pages say you can't open your chat history or your backups. A backup comes back only once the number is unbanned. That is why the review matters so much.

Request the review today

1. Screenshot the notice with the date and the number.
2. Tap Request review on the notice.
3. Follow the steps in the app. If WhatsApp asks you to confirm your number, do it only inside WhatsApp itself.
4. Add a short explanation if there is a field. Say what you use WhatsApp for, and why your messages were not spam. Ask for a review by a person.
5. Wait for the notification. WhatsApp says it tells you when it has decided.

WhatsApp's help pages say one appeal covers one phone number, and that contacting it outside the review won't speed it up. No deadline for the review is published, so do it soon rather than later.

Your rights if you live in the EU

WhatsApp Ireland Limited runs WhatsApp in the EU. The DSA rules for online platforms cover WhatsApp Channels, but the European Commission says private messaging is excluded. So for a ban over your chats, a DSA complaint and a dispute body probably aren't open to you. Even the statement of reasons rule (DSA Art. 17) is uncertain here. You can still ask for reasons. You just can't count on the DSA to force them.

What does work:

• Your data (GDPR Art. 15). Ask for a free copy of your personal data. WhatsApp must answer within one month, or up to two more months for complex requests if it tells you why. Ask whether the ban was an automated decision (GDPR Art. 22). WhatsApp says its systems automate some decisions.
• WhatsApp's own terms. WhatsApp's terms for the European Region say it may end the service for a breach only after a chance to fix it or a warning, unless special circumstances apply. If you got no warning, say so.
• Court. That right stays open.

WhatsApp's EU contact form covers "WhatsApp and WhatsApp channels" requests. Use it, or the privacy form, if the in-app tools don't work on a banned number.

If you live outside the EU, the in-app review is your main route.

What not to do

• Don't pay anyone who promises to unban your number. It is a scam.
• Don't give the six digit code WhatsApp sends you by text to anyone, even someone claiming to be WhatsApp. Whoever has it can take over your account.
• Don't register the number in another app or make a new account to get around the ban.

If the review fails, see WhatsApp appeal denied. If you think it was a mix-up, read WhatsApp banned by mistake. Everything else is on the WhatsApp hub.

The free checker shows which of these rights fit your case.