In WhatsApp (WA) marketing and customer operations, WA account screening is a key link for enterprises to reach targeted customers and reduce operational risks. However, many enterprises’ understanding of WA account screening still remains at the basic level of "determining whether a number is registered on WA". Little do they know that this single-dimensional screening method is planting huge hidden risks for account security and marketing effectiveness. It’s important to note that WA account screening is far from being as simple as "if registered, then usable". If key dimensions such as risky account identification and compliance status checks are ignored, it will not only lead to the waste of marketing resources, but also may trigger WA platform risk control, putting the accounts that have been painstakingly operated at risk of being banned. With the help of ITG Global Screening, a professional tool for WA account screening, enterprises can break through the limitations of basic screening, identify security risks from multiple dimensions, and make WA operations both efficient and secure.
Many enterprises believe that as long as they confirm a number is registered through WA account screening, they can safely send messages. However, this one-sided screening logic will actually trigger a series of security issues, which can be specifically summarized into three major risks:
WA account screening that only checks "registration status" cannot identify risky account types such as "accounts associated with banned accounts, accounts with high complaint rates, and accounts with abnormal devices". These risky accounts seem to be able to receive messages normally, but they have actually been marked as "high-risk users" by the WA platform. Sending messages to them will be judged as "associated non-compliant behavior". For example, a cross-border e-commerce company only conducted basic registration verification for WA account screening and sent product information to 100,000 purchased "registered" numbers. Unbeknownst to them, 20,000 of these numbers were risky accounts associated with banned accounts. Three days after sending the messages, two core operational accounts were restricted from sending functions due to "associated non-compliance", making it impossible to follow up with nearly a thousand potential customers.
The WA platform has strict control over the "invalid sending rate". If WA account screening only focuses on registration status, invalid numbers such as empty numbers and suspended numbers will be mixed into the customer list. These numbers cannot receive messages, and frequent sending to them will cause the WA platform to identify the sender as a "spammer". Data shows that for WA account screening that only conducts basic registration verification, the proportion of invalid numbers averages over 35%, far exceeding the WA platform’s early warning threshold of 15% for invalid sending rates. A fast-moving consumer goods brand failed to improve its WA account screening process and sent promotional information to 50,000 "registered" numbers, among which 18,000 were invalid numbers, resulting in an invalid sending rate of 36%. In the end, the account was restricted from sending functions for one week, missing the golden period of promotion.
With the improvement of data compliance regulations, WA marketing must ensure that the recipients of messages have authorized the receipt of information. If WA account screening only focuses on registration status and does not check users’ compliance authorization, sending messages to unauthorized users will trigger a large number of complaints. The WA platform is highly sensitive to the "user complaint rate"—if the complaint rate of a single account exceeds 4%, the account will be restricted from adding friends or sending messages. A foreign trade enterprise did not conduct compliance checks in its WA account screening and sent products to "registered" but unauthorized users in the EU region. It received more than 150 complaints within a week, and the account was temporarily banned by the WA platform, resulting in the loss of a large number of potential orders.
ITG Global Screening breaks the limitation of WA account screening that "only focuses on registration". Through three core functions—"risk identification, invalid number filtering, and compliance checking"—it comprehensively identifies security risks, making WA account screening more accurate and secure:
The WA account screening function of ITG Global Screening connects to the desensitized risk control data of the WA platform and can accurately identify three types of high-risk accounts:
- Accounts associated with banned accounts: Identify numbers associated with banned accounts through dimensions such as device codes and IP addresses. The risk of being banned when sending messages to these accounts exceeds 80%, and eliminating them can reduce the probability of associated non-compliance.
- Accounts with high complaint rates: Mark accounts that have been complained about by users ≥3 times in the past 30 days. These accounts have low acceptance of marketing information, and the complaint rate after sending messages exceeds 35%, so they need to be prioritized for exclusion.
- Accounts with abnormal devices: Detect accounts registered using emulators or multi-account tools. Most of these accounts are marketing accounts registered in batches, and sending messages to them is easily judged as "malicious marketing".
A B2B machinery enterprise used ITG Global Screening for WA account screening and eliminated 12,000 risky accounts from 80,000 "registered" numbers. The subsequent account ban rate dropped from 45% to 5%, significantly improving operational stability.
The WA account screening of ITG Global Screening can filter invalid numbers through multi-dimensional verification:
- Empty number/suspended number identification: Connect to real-time operator data to accurately determine whether a number is in normal use, preventing empty numbers and suspended numbers from being mixed in.
- Virtual number filtering: Identify virtual numbers registered in batches such as Google Voice and TextNow. The user retention rate of these numbers is less than 5%, and they are easily marked as "potential spam accounts" by WA.
- Inactive number checking: Analyze the login frequency and interaction records of accounts in the past 90 days, and eliminate "inactive numbers that have been registered but not active for half a year" to avoid invalid message sending.
A beauty brand used ITG Global Screening for WA account screening, reducing the proportion of invalid numbers from 35% to less than 5%. The invalid sending rate was far below the WA platform’s early warning threshold, and no account was restricted due to the anti-spam mechanism within 6 months.
The WA account screening of ITG Global Screening can identify risks from the compliance dimension:
- Authorization status verification: By connecting to enterprise CRM data and WA subscription records, identify whether users have clearly authorized the receipt of marketing information through methods such as form submission and channel subscription.
- Regional compliance adaptation: In response to the requirements of different regions such as the EU GDPR and Southeast Asian data regulations, additionally check whether users agree to data processing terms to avoid non-compliant message sending.
- Complaint history query: Mark users who have complaint records in the past 90 days. These users have low tolerance for marketing information, so it is necessary to reconfirm their authorization willingness before sending messages.
A home furnishing brand used the compliance checking function of ITG Global Screening for WA account screening, reducing the proportion of unauthorized users from 40% to 8%. The complaint rate after sending messages dropped from 7% to 1.2%, and the account was no longer restricted due to compliance issues.
Using ITG Global Screening for WA account screening requires no complex operations. Through 4 steps, enterprises can upgrade from "basic registration verification" to "multi-dimensional security screening" and comprehensively identify risks:
According to the enterprise’s business needs, set WA account screening dimensions in the ITG Global Screening backend, balancing security and accuracy:
- Mandatory dimensions: Risky account identification (accounts associated with banned accounts/accounts with high complaint rates/accounts with abnormal devices), invalid number filtering (empty numbers/suspended numbers/virtual numbers), and compliance authorization checking.
- Optional dimensions: Inactive number checking (inactive for the past 90 days), regional compliance adaptation (e.g., EU, Southeast Asia).
- Example standard: The WA account screening standard for a cross-border e-commerce company targeting the North American market is "eliminate risky accounts + invalid number proportion ≤5% + compliant user proportion ≥95%".
Organize the WA numbers to be screened into Excel/CSV format (including country codes), upload them to the "WA Account Screening" module in the ITG Global Screening backend, confirm the screening dimensions, and click "Start Screening". The system will automatically connect to multi-dimensional data and conduct real-time analysis of the risk status, invalid status, and compliance of each number. For 100,000 numbers, ITG Global Screening can complete the screening in only 2-3 hours, greatly saving labor costs.
ITG Global Screening will generate a detailed WA account screening report. Enterprises need to focus on three key indicators:
- Proportion of risky accounts: If the proportion exceeds 5%, re-examine the source of the numbers and prioritize numbers from owned channels (official website registration, exhibition collection).
- Proportion of invalid numbers: Need to be controlled below 5%. If it exceeds the standard, adjust the number procurement channel.
- Proportion of compliant users: For regions sensitive to regulations, it needs to be ≥95%. If it fails to meet the standard, send "authorization invitations" to unauthorized users and include them in the list only after obtaining authorization.
Based on the WA account screening results, divide the compliant and valid numbers into 3-5 batches for sending, with an interval of 24 hours between each batch to avoid triggering risk control due to excessive single sending volume. At the same time, add an "unsubscription entry" to the sent content (e.g., "Reply 'Unsubscribe' if you no longer wish to receive this information") to reduce complaint risks. During the sending process, use ITG Global Screening to monitor the "sending success rate" and "complaint rate" in real time. If the sending success rate is lower than 85% or the complaint rate is higher than 3%, immediately pause sending and re-conduct WA account screening.
Previously, the cross-border e-commerce company only conducted WA account screening to check "registration status" and faced three major problems:
- Frequent account restrictions: On average, one account was restricted due to associated non-compliance every month, resulting in the loss of a large number of customer resources.
- Severe invalid message sending: When sending messages to 100,000 "registered" numbers, the invalid sending rate reached 38%, causing serious waste of resources.
- High complaint rate: The complaint rate from EU users reached 8%, and the company received multiple warnings from the WA platform.
After conducting multi-dimensional WA account screening with ITG Global Screening, the enterprise achieved significant improvements:
- Greatly reduced risks: Eliminated 18% of risky accounts and 33% of invalid numbers, screened out 96% of compliant users. The account ban rate dropped from 40% to 3%, and no account was restricted for 6 months.
- Improved efficiency: The invalid sending rate dropped from 38% to 4%, allowing marketing resources to accurately reach valid customers. The follow-up rate of potential customers increased by 60%.
- Reduced complaints: The proportion of compliant users increased, and the complaint rate from EU users dropped from 8% to 1.1%, earning a good operational rating from the WA platform.
Free tools can only conduct basic registration verification and cannot identify risky accounts or compliance status. Using them for WA account screening still leaves an account ban risk of over 50%. ITG Global Screening, on the other hand, can comprehensively identify risks and help save the cost of account maintenance in the long run.
User account status changes dynamically (e.g., being complained about later, account cancellation). It is recommended to re-conduct WA account screening with ITG Global Screening every month to eliminate newly added risky accounts and invalid numbers.
Different industries and regions have different WA account screening needs. For example, B2B enterprises need to focus on checking "highly active valid accounts", while cross-border enterprises need to pay close attention to "regional compliance adaptation". Flexible adjustment of dimensions through ITG Global Screening is necessary.
WA account screening is the "first security gate" for WA operations. If you only focus on "registration status", you are undoubtedly "opening the door" to risks. With the help of ITG Global Screening for multi-dimensional WA account screening, enterprises can identify risks from the source and make WA marketing both accurate and secure. Remember, the core goal of WA account screening is not only to "find registered accounts", but also to "screen out 'risk-free, compliant, and high-value' accounts". Only in this way can WA operations continue to empower business growth!
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