Shxmeem

Back in June 2025, I was exploring ways to integrate a cloud service idea within WhatsApp to help small businesses manage customer interactions.things like cross-device accessibility and automated reminders.
That’s when I discovered the WhatsApp Cloud API.

The documentation mentioned a free testing tier, so I decided to try it out. According to the terms, this free tier only allowed sending messages to my own registered number, not to anyone else.

But things didn’t go as planned.

During setup, many users — ran into a strange bug: the option to create a “Test Number” simply didn’t work.
Even weirder — when I logged into my dashboard later, several temporary numbers had somehow been added to my account without my doing anything.

If there was a technical bug letting random numbers attach to my account, what about security? Or worse — what if the pricing model got affected?

So I checked my billing. It still said $0.00, with no pending dues.
To be safe, I decided to delete the account.

On July 24, 2025, I first removed my WhatsApp number from the Cloud API — hoping I’d still be able to use it normally in the WhatsApp app.
Then I requested full account deletion.

I got a confirmation email:

“Facebook will start deleting your account in 30 days. After 23 Aug 2025, you won’t be able to access the account or any of the content you’ve added.”

Deletion confirmation screenshot

But once I removed the number from the Cloud API, I couldn’t access it on WhatsApp anymore.
Still, since Meta said the account would be deleted in 30 days, I waited.

By September 3, 2025 — well past the deletion date — my number was still locked out.
I created a support ticket, but it was automatically closed without any response — just a “send feedback” button.

Closed support ticket screenshot

I then tried reaching out everywhere:

No human ever replied.

I even submitted a report to Meta’s Bug Bounty program, thinking maybe this was a system flaw affecting other business accounts.
It was rejected — they said it didn’t fit their security vulnerability categories.

Someone online suggested creating a new account with the same email to check if my data was really deleted.
I tried — a new account was created, but it got banned within 7 hours.

Account banned screenshot

Finally, I filed a formal grievance with gac.gov.in, but they rejected it, saying they only handle complaints made within one month of the issue.

GAC rejection screenshot

It’s been months.
My phone number is still registered as a WhatsApp Business number on Meta’s servers, and I’m completely locked out from using it.

You can check the number here:
wa.me/919961450351?text=test

Locked number: +91 99614 50351
Account email: pyavamottapettavan@gmail.com