Almost 2 million users have been blocked by WhatsApp over the last month for sending messages in bulk, according to a report by FB hides.

As the elections inch closer, the company aims to curb the problem of political bulk messages.

“While there are many actors trying to abuse the free service we provide, we are constantly advancing our anti-abuse operations to keep the platform safe,” WhatsApp said in a statement according to the report.

“We’re able to detect and ban many accounts before they register a” preventing them from sending a single message. Roughly 20 per cent of account bans happened at registration time. For example, our systems can detect if a similar phone number has been recently abused or if the computer network used for registration has been associated with suspicious behaviour,” the statement added.

Reportedly, WhatsApp said it has appointed a special Grievance Officer who can be contacted directly if a user has concerns about their WhatsApp experience and is unable to report it through other mediums.

WhatsApp said it worked with political parties that went into elections in 2018 and held training programmes to raise awareness about this  very topic. 

“We will expand this effort and work with the Election Commission of India in the lead up to the national election this year, WhatsApp reportedly said.