About unofficial apps
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Unofficial apps or websites are fake WhatsApp apps, developed by third-parties. Using these apps or linking your WhatsApp account to unofficial versions of WhatsApp violates our Terms of Service. We don't support these apps because we can't validate their security or privacy practices.
If you use these apps or websites:
- Your privacy and security are at risk. Unofficial apps might carry malware that can steal your data, and damage your phone.
- There’s no guarantee your messages or your data, like your location or the files you share, will be private and secure.
- Your WhatsApp account might also be temporarily or permanently banned, or it could lead to restrictions on your account, including the ability to link devices.
Examples of unofficial apps
Examples of unofficial apps may include GB WhatsApp, FM WhatsApp, WhatsApp Plus, TeleMessage, TM WhatsApp, and others.
About the unofficial app system message
If you’re using an unofficial app, you might see a system message saying “You need the official WhatsApp to log in”, or ”You have been logged out for using an unofficial app.”
For your safety and to avoid account access issues, please remove all unofficial WhatsApp apps from your device before installing and registering with the official WhatsApp app.
How to switch to the official WhatsApp app
We recommend that you always use the official WhatsApp app. Only chat history created while using the official app can be securely backed up. If you backed up your chat history on the unofficial app, we can't guarantee that the chat history transfer will be successful because we don’t support unofficial apps.
Uninstall the unofficial app, then go to our website to download WhatsApp or the WhatsApp Business app and re-register your phone number. For Android users, if you see an error that the app isn’t available in your country, visit this page to download WhatsApp.
