Calling someone who has blocked you on WhatsApp can lead to different outcomes depending on the blocking settings used. Here’s a look at what can happen if you try to call a contact who has blocked you on WhatsApp.
They will not receive any calls or messages from you
The main effect of blocking someone on WhatsApp is that the blocked contact can no longer send you messages or call you. So if you try to call someone who has blocked you, the call simply will not go through.
When you block someone on WhatsApp, you essentially stop all forms of contact from that person to yourself. They cannot see when you are online, when you’ve read messages, or know when you’re typing. Any messages they send you will not be delivered, and any calls will immediately fail.
From the blocked person’s side, it will seem like the messages and calls they send to you go through normally. But you as the blocker will not receive any of them. The blocked contact will have no indication that you’ve blocked them.
They may still appear online or “typing…” to you
Even though you are blocked from contacting someone, their online status and “typing” indicator may still be visible to you in some cases. This depends on the specific blocking settings the other person has chosen.
On WhatsApp for iPhone, there are two blocking options:
- Block – Prevents messaging and calling but still shows online status and typing
- Block Contacts – Blocks everything including status and typing
So if someone simply “Blocks” you, you will still be able to see when they are online or typing. But if they “Block Contacts”, you will not see any status information for them.
On Android, blocking only has a single option that prevents all contact. So on Android if someone blocks you, you will not see any online or typing indicators for them.
They will know you tried to call them
Even though your call won’t go through when blocked, the other person will still know that you tried to call them. This is because WhatsApp logs all attempted calls.
In your call history, a blocked call will show as “Cancelled”. And in the recipient’s call log, it will show as a missed call from you.
So even though they have blocked you and cannot receive your call, they will still see evidence that you tried to call them.
Your messages will still be blocked
In addition to blocking calls, a WhatsApp block also prevents you from sending messages to that person. So even if you try to call first and then send a message, they will not receive either.
On your end, it will seem like your call failed to go through and your message was sent. But the recipient will never know you tried to contact them.
This applies to both individual and group messages. If someone blocks you, you cannot send them any messages on WhatsApp.
You may not know you are blocked
One tricky aspect of blocking on WhatsApp is that you may not always know that you’ve been blocked. Since your messages and calls will still appear to send normally, there is no obvious notification that you’ve been blocked.
The only way to know for sure is if the other person explicitly tells you. Otherwise, you only notice when they suddenly stop replying to your calls and messages. But without confirmation, you don’t know if they are just ignoring you or have actually blocked you.
Here are some signs that may indicate you’ve been blocked on WhatsApp:
- Your messages never show “delivered” or “read”
- Your calls immediately cancel or fail
- You can no longer see the contact’s profile photo, status, or online indicator
- You disappear from any WhatsApp groups you had in common
But none of these are guaranteed indicators of being blocked. The only foolproof way to know is if the other user confirms they have blocked you.
You can still report problematic messages
If someone has blocked you on WhatsApp after sending harassing, threatening, or inappropriate messages, you can still report their account to WhatsApp.
Even though you can no longer see their messages, WhatsApp keeps logs of recent conversations. So you can contact WhatsApp support and they may be able to take action if the user violated Terms of Service.
WhatsApp provides this email for contacting support: [email protected]
Be sure to include copies of problematic messages with timestamps along with account details of the user if you choose to report them.
You cannot try to contact them from a different number
A common question is whether a blocked person can simply switch to a different phone number or SIM card to try contacting the person who blocked them.
The answer is no – WhatsApp’s blocking prevents all contact from your specific account. Switching numbers will not let you circumvent a block.
This is because WhatsApp uses your account identifier rather than just your phone number to enforce blocks. So even if you swap numbers, you are still blocked based on your account ID.
Only the blocker can unblock contact
Once someone blocks you on WhatsApp, only they have the ability to unblock you. There is nothing you can do on your end to get unblocked.
The blocker has to voluntarily go into their settings and remove you from the blocked contacts list. Unless they choose to do this, you have no way to get unblocked.
Any messages you send asking to be unblocked will never reach them. Your only option is to wait and hope the blocker decides to remove the block.
Blocking is platform specific
It’s important to note that blocking only applies on the specific device where the block was set. For example:
- If you’re blocked on someone’s iPhone, you can still message them from your Android phone.
- If you’re blocked on WhatsApp only, you can still contact them on Facebook Messenger.
Blocks are not synced across platforms. So blocking only prevents contact on the specific app and device where the block was enabled.
You can get blocked automatically
In some cases, you may find yourself blocked on WhatsApp automatically without the other person doing it manually.
Reasons this can happen include:
- Exceeding WhatsApp’s limits for forwarding messages
- Sending too many messages without getting a reply
- Violating WhatsApp’s Terms of Service
If WhatsApp detects suspicious activity from your account, it may block you from contacting certain people or groups. This serves to prevent spam and abuse.
Getting blocked automatically is rare, but can happen if you exhibit behavior that looks like spamming or harassment. The block in these cases comes directly from WhatsApp itself.
You can still see limited profile info
When someone blocks you on WhatsApp, you can no longer see their profile photo, status, last seen time, or any other profile details.
However, you are still able to see some basic profile information like their name, about section, and phone number.
So even though you can’t view the complete profile, some high-level details remain visible. This allows you to still identify the contact, even though you can no longer directly communicate.
Calling via group is not possible
Since being blocked prevents you from contacting someone directly, some people wonder if it’s possible to circumvent this by calling them via a WhatsApp group.
The answer is no. When someone blocks you on WhatsApp, you are automatically removed from any groups where both of you are members. And any new groups you join will automatically remove the blocking user.
This prevents you from contacting a blocked user through the group chat feature. Calling someone who blocked you via groups is not possible.
Conclusion
Being blocked on WhatsApp cuts off all forms of direct communication with that person. They will not receive your messages, calls, status updates, or any other attempted contacts.
Blocking happens at the account level, so changing your number won’t enable you to bypass a block. Only the blocking user can choose to unblock you.
While blocking can be frustrating, it is an important tool to prevent harassment and abuse. Respect the wishes of anyone who feels the need to block you for their own privacy and safety.