A viral message claiming that ‘the Government of India has issued an order to WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned instant messaging app to suspend services for users every night between 11:30 pm and 06:00 a.m., is doing rounds on the internet. But there is no need to worry or be shocked as this message is fake.
The Whatsapp message also stated that if a person did not forward the same message, their account would be deactivated. Furthermore, the widely distributed fake news stated that WhatsApp
users would be charged a monthly fee of Rs 499 to re-activate their accounts after being deactivated by the authorities.
The fake news has gone viral just a few days after social media giants WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook experienced a massive technical outage on Monday, October 4.
WhatsApp's policy changes contain no such warning and the fake message is in circulation since at least 2015.
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This message could have started as a harmless prank or joke, but it appears that nighttime joking in today's society can have unexpected repercussions. There appear to be enough WhatsApp
users who have been duped into believing that these messages are true and who are then sharing them with their WhatsApp groups or friends and family members.
However, now that you know these WhatsApp messages are fake, ignore them. In India, WhatsApp is neither blocked nor banned, nor will you have to pay a fee to use it.