How to tell if you got blocked on whatsapp


5 Ways to Tell If Someone Blocked You on WhatsApp

  • There's no definite way to tell if you've been blocked on WhatsApp, but there are a few warning signs.
  • When someone blocks you on WhatsApp, you won't be able to call them and they won't see your messages.
  • This story is part of Insider's Guide to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is a chatting, phone, and photo sharing app used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. So it's not surprising that WhatsApp lets you block users who you don't want to hear from anymore.

Blocking someone on WhatsApp is the best way to stop them from calling or messaging you. But if you're the one who's been blocked, how can you tell?

Unfortunately, there's no direct way to find out if you've been blocked on WhatsApp. But there are hints that you can use to figure it out.

If you think someone's blocked you on WhatsApp, run through the checklist below to see if your hunch is true.

Quick tip: If you find out that someone's blocked you on WhatsApp, the best move is to leave them alone. Repeatedly trying to contact someone who's blocked you can constitute harassment.

You can't see a contact's 'last seen' status

The first thing to do is check the user's "last seen" status. This is a message that updates whenever that user opens WhatsApp, and tells you the last time they used the app.

By default, you'll see the last time your contacts used WhatsApp. WhatsApp; William Antonelli/Insider

If you don't see one, you may have been blocked — although the user might have just disabled the feature on their account.

You don't see a contact's new profile picture

If someone blocks you and then changes their profile picture, you won't see the new profile picture — you'll always see whatever the image was when you got blocked.

This means that there isn't a definite way to tell if they're updating their profile picture. But if you know this contact updated their picture often, and now they've suddenly stopped, that's a sign that you've been blocked.

Your messages only show one checkmark

WhatsApp uses checkmark symbols to track your messages. One checkmark symbol next to your message means it's been sent, while two checkmarks mean that it's been received.

When you message someone who's blocked you, that second checkmark won't ever show up. If you're connected to the internet and your message still never gets delivered, there's a good chance that you're blocked.

The second checkmark won't appear next to messages you've sent to a contact that's blocked you. Steven John/Business Insider

Your calls will fail

Similarly, you won't be able to call anyone that's blocked you either. When you try, the call won't go through.

You can't add the contact to a WhatsApp group

Finally, try to include the contact in a WhatsApp group. If you get a message saying you aren't permitted to add them to your group, that's the surest sign that you were blocked.

William Antonelli

Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews

William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at [email protected].

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How to tell if you’ve been blocked on WhatsApp

(Image credit: Future)

Want to know how to tell if you've been blocked on WhatsApp? 

As of March 2020, WhatsApp has an estimated two billion active users, making it one of the most popular ways to communicate and connect with friends. Over the past few months, WhatsApp has rolled out a number of updates, including group calls, disappearing photos and videos, and a handy chat feature, though one thing users still can’t directly see is when they’ve been blocked in the app.  

  •  How to use WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop 
  •  The best WhatsApp alternatives currently available

According to WhatsApp, this is to protect users’ privacy, something it's keen to do following the backlash around its new privacy policy, but how can you be sure if that contact is just busy, or whether they’re actually gone for good? 

Although WhatsApp won’t notify you when one of your contacts manually blocks you (perhaps for the best), if you think you might have been blocked, there are a few key signs to look out for in the app. 

How to tell if you've been blocked on WhatsApp: You can no longer see someone’s profile photo 

One of the easiest ways to spot that your contact has blocked you is that you won’t be able to see their profile photo anymore and in its place, there will be a generic user icon. 

Of course, this might also mean that your contact has removed their photo or deleted their account, but if your friends can still see their profile photo and you can’t, it could be a sign that the person has blocked you.  

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

When you get blocked on WhatsApp, the service prevents you from seeing information like when the contact was last online, so if your contact’s ‘last seen’ has suddenly disappeared, this might be why. 

On its website, WhatsApp confirms, "Your last seen, online, status updates, and any changes made to your profile photo will no longer be visible to contacts you've blocked."

Again, we must caveat that this isn’t always the case. Sometimes it might just mean that your contact has turned this feature off in their privacy settings. 

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

How to tell if you've been blocked on WhatsApp: Messages you send never get two ticks 

If you want to test things by sending your contact a message, if you have been blocked, you’ll find the messages you send will only ever get one tick, not two. 

To remind you, one grey tick means the message was successfully sent, two grey ticks mean the message was successfully delivered to the recipient’s phone and two blue ticks mean the recipient has read your message.  

If you’re only noticing one grey tick over a number of days, the chances are that your contact isn’t just in an area of no reception, and you’ve probably been blocked. 

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

How to tell if you've been blocked on WhatsApp: Your calls won’t connect 

Another bold, but sure-fire step to take is to physically call the contact you think might have blocked you on WhatsApp. If you try and call your contact on WhatsApp and the call rings a couple of times then disconnects, then chances are you’ve been blocked. 

That said, this might also mean that they’re busy and are hanging up, but if it happens multiple times, it might confirm your suspicions. 

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If you try all of the above and notice one or more of these things over a few days, the chances are you have been blocked on WhatsApp (and if you haven’t, your contact will probably let you know). That said, there is no way to be 100% sure, and it seems unlikely that WhatsApp will ever roll out such a feature, to protect its users' privacy.  

How to block someone on WhatsApp on Android

Unlike detecting whether or not you’ve been blocked, blocking someone on WhatsApp is a simple process. Here’s how to do it on Android. 

1. Open WhatsApp on your Android phone, then select the three dots in the top right corner of the app and choose "Settings."

2. Under "Settings," find "Account," then "Privacy," then tap "Blocked Contacts."  

3. From "Blocked Contacts," select the "Add New" icon in the top-right corner and pick a contact from your list who you want to block. 

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

How to block someone on WhatsApp on iPhone

And here's how to block someone on WhatsApp on your iPhone.

1. On your iPhone, go into your WhatsApp settings and tap "Account." 

2. Under "Account," find "Privacy" and then select "Blocked. "

3. In the "Blocked" section, you’ll be able to see (and unblock) blocked contacts. To add a contact, select "Add New" and pick one from your WhatsApp contacts list.

  • Read next: How to delete all photos on your iPhone or iPad
  • How to turn off Google Assistant
  • How to show your Covid vaccination status on your phone 

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Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide's Fitness editor, which means she looks after everything fitness related - from running gear to yoga mats. An avid runner, Jane has tested and reviewed fitness products for the past five years, so knows what to look for when finding a good running watch or a pair of shorts with pockets big enough for your smartphone. When she's not pounding the pavements, you'll find Jane striding round the Surrey Hills, taking far too many photos of her puppy. 

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How to understand that you have been blocked on WhatsApp

August 9 Likbez Technologies

Five signs may indicate this.

For your own safety, the messenger does not explicitly report that one of your contacts has added you to the blacklist. Therefore, you can only find out that you are blocked by indirect signs. By themselves, they do not mean anything, but if you encounter several of them at once, then this most likely means a ban from the interlocutor. nine0003

1. Try to send a message

Write something to the chat and pay attention to the number and color of checkmarks next to your messages. If the bird is one and gray, then the message did not reach the addressee. Perhaps the person is simply not online or his phone is dead, but if the second checkmark does not appear for a long time, most likely you have been banned.

2. Check the status of the other person

Usually under the name of the person in the chat is displayed “online” or something like “was (-s) today at 15:29". When there is nothing like that, this is also a sign of blocking.

Although not always. The status will be absent if the person has hidden it with privacy settings. Or if you yourself hide the time of the last visit, then it will not be displayed for you either.

3. View profile photo

In addition to the status blocking also hides the user's avatar. If you remember exactly that the interlocutor had a profile photo, and now instead of it there is a gray circle with a silhouette, you are probably blacklisted. nine0003

But remember that many simply do not add pictures to their account.

4. Try to call

Being on the black list of a specific person, you will not be able to contact him either by voice or video. Try calling him via whatsapp. If after several attempts you hear only beeps, and the connection is not established, most likely you have been banned.

5. Try to add a person to the group

The black list restricts communication with the specified user not only in private but also in general chats. At the same time, you can create a group and add a person there, but he will not see either it or your messages. nine0003

Try it. If there is no answer, then with a high probability you have been blocked on WhatsApp.

Read also 💬🔎✔️

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  • How to block a person on Telegram

WhatsApp told how to understand that you have been blocked

WhatsApp is a rather confusing messenger. So many conventional symbols and designations, as in it, perhaps, nowhere else. All these ticks - gray or blue - intra-chat notifications and backups only complicate its perception by ordinary users. For this reason, the majority simply cannot figure it out on their own, and they are forced to look for the answer to their question on the Internet. Fortunately, the creators of the messenger come to the rescue, explaining, for example, how to find out that you have been blocked on whatsapp .

Have you been blocked on WhatsApp? This can only be understood by indirect signs

WhatsApp will soon be able to be used simultaneously on several devices

Looking ahead, I will say that there is no 100% way to determine that you have been blocked on WhatsApp does not exist. This can be understood only by indirect signs, and the more there are, the more you can rely on them. These signs were described by the creators of the messenger, offering users to build on them. nineOl000 Is it possible to find out if you have been blocked on WhatsApp

Whatsapp, in principle, is very illogical

However, such that a notification appears in the messenger directly saying that you have been added to the black list and you can now write messages to the selected interlocutor, unfortunately , No. But this is no reason not to play detective, especially when WhatsApp itself gives food for thought. nine0003

WhatsApp has deceived us all. The messenger will not be able to be used on several smartphones

Most likely, the reason to think that you have been blacklisted in WhatsApp is the lack of a response to your messages from the interlocutor to whom you are writing. But after all, a long silence on his part in itself is not a sign at all. So there must be something else.

How to understand that you have been blocked on WhatsApp

If there is only one gray checkmark where the arrow points, this is a sign that you have been blocked

First of all, pay attention to ticks under the message in WhatsApp . In fact, they can understand quite a lot. If there is only one checkmark and is grayed out , then the message was not received. That is, it did not appear on the screen of your interlocutor's smartphone. And this can only happen if his device is turned off, is out of network coverage, or you have been blocked.

In this case, look at the profile photo. If you are blocked, the image will disappear. Therefore, it is important to remember whether your interlocutor, in principle, had an avatar installed. Because many users neglect this element of identifying themselves, and prefer use whatsapp without sharing your photos.

How to send photos and videos to WhatsApp without losing quality

The third sign that you have been blocked is the absence of the last time your interlocutor appeared on the Web. By default, you can see when he last logged into WhatsApp . But, if you are blocked, you will not see either this information or the current status of the interlocutor if he appeared online.

Unable to call WhatsApp

Can't reach WhatsApp? This is also a sign of blocking, albeit indirect

Then, if all the signs match, and you desperately need to contact the interlocutor who supposedly blocked you, try calling him via WhatsApp . If you are still blacklisted, you will not be able to reach this user either via audio or video.

In principle, everything is logical, but why couldn't you just add a special notification to the WhatsApp interface that would indicate to the blocked person that he was blocked? In fact, this is done on purpose. According to the developers of the messenger, they specifically implemented everything in such a way as to determine something by these signs. So they protect the privacy of users who want to stop contacting someone. nine0003

Roskomnadzor against WhatsApp. Will the most popular messenger be blocked in Russia

Perhaps this is not very convenient, but at some point it can play into your hands, when you want to block someone , but do not want to explain to him.


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