Will a contact know that they are blocked in WhatsApp - briefly?
When you block someone on WhatsApp, they will not be notified of the action. However, they may notice certain signs, such as the inability to see your profile picture or status updates, which could indicate that they have been blocked.
Will a contact know that they are blocked in WhatsApp - in detail?
When a user blocks someone on WhatsApp, the behavior of the app changes in ways that can indicate to the blocked contact that they have been restricted from communication. Here is a detailed analysis of what happens:
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Message Delivery Status: The primary indicator for a blocked contact is the change in message delivery status. When a user blocks another person, messages sent by the blocked contact will no longer show the typical checkmarks (one gray, two green) that indicate delivery and read status. Instead, they will only see one gray checkmark, which means the message was successfully sent but not delivered to the recipient's phone.
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Profile Picture: The profile picture of the blocked contact will no longer be visible to them. It will appear as a default icon or an empty space, indicating that the user has restricted their access.
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Status Updates: Blocked contacts will not be able to see any status updates from the person who blocked them. This includes text, photo, and video statuses. The "Last Seen" timestamp will also not update for the blocked contact, further indicating a communication barrier.
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Calls: If the blocker has enabled the option to block calls as well, the blocked contact will be unable to make voice or video calls to them. Attempting to call will result in a message saying the call could not be connected.
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Group Membership: In some cases, if the user who was blocked tries to add the blocker to a group, they may receive an error message indicating that their invitation cannot be accepted. This can hint at being blocked, although it is not a definitive indicator on its own.
Despite these indicators, WhatsApp does not send any explicit notification to the blocked contact informing them of their status. The changes in behavior are subtle but noticeable, especially if the blocked contact was previously able to see message delivery statuses, profile pictures, and status updates.
In summary, while a blocked contact may not receive an outright notification, the changes in how messages are delivered, the visibility of profile pictures and status updates, and the ability to make calls provide strong indications that they have been blocked on WhatsApp.