Meta will begin testing a monthly cap on how many messages WhatsApp users and businesses can send to people who have not replied, in a bid to reduce spam on the platform used by more than 3 billion people. The company confirmed the plan to TechCrunch and said the test will roll out “in multiple countries in the coming weeks,” without naming specific markets or providing a start date.
Under the test, “All messages users and businesses send to others will count against this new per-month limit, unless they get a response. For instance, if you meet someone at a conference and send three messages, that counts against the limit.” Meta did not disclose the numerical limit but said the change is intended to curb “people and businesses that blast messages and spam people,” adding that it should not affect regular users.
The cap applies to any outbound messages sent to recipients who have not replied, regardless of whether the sender is an individual or a business. All such messages will count toward the monthly allowance until the recipient responds, at which point additional messages to that person will no longer count against the limit.
Meta has introduced multiple anti-spam measures on WhatsApp in recent years, especially targeting political and commercial spam. Those safeguards have had mixed results as spammers adapt, prompting the company to test stricter controls on unsolicited outreach.
The upcoming test coincides with WhatsApp’s work on username support, which would allow people to connect without sharing phone numbers. The company has been developing a handle reservation screen on Android, and similar code was spotted this week in the iOS beta. Meta has not announced a release timeline for usernames.
