Again! Viral WhatsApp Message Falsely Claims Users Must Share a Disclaimer to Protect their Photos and Avoid Message Charges
BY: Habeeb Adisa
Claim:
A message circulating widely on WhatsApp claims that a new policy will allow the platform to use users’ photos, messages, and personal information without their consent unless they copy and share a legal notice. The message also falsely claims WhatsApp will begin charging users per message and that forwarding the message to 10 people or groups will keep the service free.
Verdict: FALSE.
Full Text:
The viral message, which has circulated in different versions for several years, reads in part:
“I do not give WhatsApp or any organisation associated with WhatsApp, such as Facebook and Instagram, permission to use my images, information, messages, photos, deleted messages, files, etc… Please share it in 10 groups… your phone is protected… On Saturday, WhatsApp will start charging… send this message to 10 people and your logo will turn blue.”
Verification:
To verify the claims, FactCheckAfrica reviewed WhatsApp’s official Privacy Policy, WhatsApp’s Help Center guidance on end-to-end encryption and Advanced Chat Privacy, official announcements from the Meta Newsroom, and publicly available information about WhatsApp Business Platform pricing.
Can copying and sharing a message stop WhatsApp from using your data?
No.
There is no legal or technical basis for this claim. Posting or forwarding a disclaimer on WhatsApp does not change the platform’s Terms of Service or Privacy Policy.
Users agree to WhatsApp’s terms when creating and using an account. Any changes to privacy policies are communicated officially through the app or Meta’s official channels—not through viral chain messages.
You can read WhatsApp’s official Privacy Policy here:
https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy
Is WhatsApp introducing charges of €0.01 per message?
No.
WhatsApp remains free for personal users.
Meta charges businesses that use the WhatsApp Business Platform under separate pricing plans, but there has been no announcement that personal users will pay per message.
Information about WhatsApp Business pricing is available here:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing
This rumour has circulated repeatedly for years and has been debunked each time.
Conclusion:
Notably, this is not the first time this false claim has circulated online. FactCheckAfrica had earlier published a fact-check debunking the same recycled WhatsApp hoax after it resurfaced in different versions across social media and messaging platforms. The previous report explained that neither copying and sharing a disclaimer nor forwarding a chain message changes WhatsApp’s privacy policies or prevents the platform from accessing users’ data. Read the earlier fact-check here: https://factcheckafrica.net/debunked-viral-whatsapp-message-claiming-users-must-copy-and-share-a-notice-to-protect-their-photos-is-false/.
