Spam Overload: 96% WhatsApp Users In India Say They Receive Unsolicited Messages Every Day

Last Updated:February 04, 2026, 11:52 IST

According to a LocalCircles survey, 54 per cent users reported getting between one and three such messages daily, while 30 per cent said they receive four to seven messages daily.

The Supreme Court on Feb 3 directed Meta Platforms and WhatsApp to file an affidavit assuring that user data will not be shared for advertising purposes. (AI generated image)

As the Supreme Court tightens scrutiny of WhatsApp’s privacy practices, fresh evidence suggests that Indian users are increasingly overwhelmed by spam and promotional messages on the platform. A nationwide survey by LocalCircles reveals that an overwhelming 96 per cent of WhatsApp users in India receive unsolicited commercial messages every single day, raising serious questions about data protection, platform accountability and user consent.

The issue came into sharp focus on February 3, when the Supreme Court directed Meta Platforms and WhatsApp to file an affidavit assuring that user data will not be shared for advertising purposes. The court warned that failure to provide a clear undertaking could lead to the dismissal of Meta’s challenge to proceedings against WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy. The policy has already been examined by multiple regulators, including the Competition Commission of India and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, over concerns of excessive data sharing within the Meta group.

Against this backdrop, LocalCircles conducted a survey with over 42,000 responses from WhatsApp users across 324 districts of India. According to the findings, only 4 per cent of respondents said they do not receive any promotional or spam messages. A majority 54 per cent reported getting between one and three such messages daily, while 30 per cent said they receive four to seven messages each day. Alarmingly, 11 per cent stated they receive eight or more spam messages daily.

The survey also points to a sharp rise in spam over the last three years. While the share of users receiving one to three messages has marginally declined since 2023, the proportion of users receiving eight or more spam messages has jumped from 11 per cent to 19 per cent, indicating a worsening problem rather than improvement.

Financial services and real estate emerged as the most common categories of spam, cited by 71 per cent of respondents each. Healthcare and pathology services followed at 46 per cent, while 44 per cent reported receiving job or earnings-related messages. Many users flagged that a growing number of these messages are being routed through WhatsApp Business accounts, a paid service, suggesting weak checks and balances or commercial incentives overriding user protection.

When faced with spam, 59 per cent of users said they block such senders, while 35% simply ignore the messages. However, respondents noted that blocking offers limited relief, as spammers often resurface using new numbers or accounts.

LocalCircles, a Community Social Media platform, enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric.

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