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Party workers bypass WhatsApp’s spam restrictions with clone apps, automated tools: Report

Political party workers' digital marketers in India are using WhatsApp clones such as GBWhatsApp and JTWhatsApp, and software tools that cost less than Rs 1,000 to bypass WhatsApp’s anti-spam measures, according to a Reuters investigation. The software appear to overcome restrictions WhatsApp placed last year to reduce velocity and control spread of misinformation. Demand for such tools has surged during election season, the report said, citing digital companies and sources in the BJP and the Congress. According to the report, WhatsApp is being misused for political campaigning in at least the following three ways: Some BJP and Congress workers used free clone apps available online to manually forward messages in bulk Some used software tools that send WhatsApp messages automatically, these were available on Amazon.in Some firms were offering political workers the chance to go to a website and send bulk WhatsApp messages from anonymous numbers. WhatsApp appears to have begun cracking down on clone apps earlier this year. In March, it updated the FAQ section of its website to help users with banned accounts migrate their data from unsupported apps to the official app. WhatsApp says that user phone numbers associated with GBWhatsApp, JTWhatsApp and other “unofficial” apps are first temporarily banned. If they don’t switch to the official app, the account associated with that phone number is banned permanently. But working around it this easy - all one needs is a new SIM card and they're back on the platform. India's social media election This is not the…

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