# WhatsApp error 368: account restricted — cause and fix URL: https://wa.genuka.com/en/docs/errors/368 Language: English > WhatsApp error 368: the WhatsApp Business Account is restricted or disabled for a Meta policy violation. Durations, requesting a review, prevention. WhatsApp error 368 means the WhatsApp Business account linked to the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy. It is neither a bug nor a rate limit: retrying will not help. The way out goes through Business Support Home, where the business sees the violation, how long it lasts, and can request a review. ## What does error 368 mean? Meta lists it among the Cloud API's integrity errors: > "The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for > violating a platform policy." > — [Meta, Cloud API error codes](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/support/error-codes#integrity-errors) The suggested fix points to Meta's policy enforcement document. In the general Graph documentation, code 368 is called "Temporarily blocked for policies violations" ([Meta, Graph API error handling](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/guides/error-handling)). ### What restrictions does Meta apply? Meta starts with a warning. If the account keeps violating the rules, restrictions grow longer step by step ([Meta, Policy enforcement](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/policy-enforcement)): | Restriction | Effect | | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 or 3 days | No marketing, utility or authentication templates; no new phone numbers | | 5, 7 or 30 days | No messages at all; no new phone numbers | | Account lock | Indefinite block on all sends, lifted only through an appeal | | Disabled | Permanently removed from the platform, after several unheeded warnings | For severe harm, Meta names child exploitation, scams, terrorism and the sale of illegal drugs, the account can be offboarded immediately (same page). ## When does error 368 happen? Meta names spam, template misclassification, high-risk categories (adult content, alcohol and tobacco, drugs, gambling, unsafe supplements) and excessive negative user feedback as reasons for restrictions (same page). In practice: * **Messages to people who never asked for them**, who then block or report the number. * **A template classified `UTILITY` whose content is promotional.** Meta counts misclassification as a violation. * **An activity WhatsApp's commerce rules forbid or tightly restrict.** ### Where do you see it in Genuka WA? Genuka WA puts code 368 in the `config` class: the account can no longer do what is asked, and no retry will change that. | Channel | What you get | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `POST /api/v1/messages` | `409`, `"error": "send_config"`, `meta.code: 368` | | Campaign | Each refused recipient turns `failed` with no retry; for a `MARKETING` campaign, Genuka first tries the Marketing Messages API, then the `/messages` endpoint, which refuses the same way | | `account_update` webhook | Meta's event, forwarded as is in `data` | Meta documents the `account_update` events to watch ([account\_update webhook](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/webhooks/reference/account_update)): | `event` | What it announces | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `ACCOUNT_VIOLATION` | A violation, with its type in `violation_info` | | `ACCOUNT_RESTRICTION` | A restriction, with its type (for example `RESTRICTED_BIZ_INITIATED_MESSAGING`) and its end date | | `DISABLED_UPDATE` | The account's ban state: `SCHEDULE_FOR_DISABLE`, `DISABLE` or `REINSTATE` | Genuka forwards each event type only once per WhatsApp account until its event log purges it, according to your plan's retention period: a second `ACCOUNT_RESTRICTION` on the same account within that window may never reach you. To know the current restriction, rely on Business Support Home rather than on the webhook alone. ## How do I fix error 368? Neither Genuka nor your code can lift a restriction: the decision is Meta's, and only the business that owns the account can contest it. 1. **Pause sends on that account.** Suspend the campaigns and automations that target its numbers: while the restriction lasts, every refused send only adds to the list of failures to replay. 2. **Open Business Support Home.** In Meta Business Suite: **All tools**, then **Business Support Home**, then **Account Overview**. The violation is described there: the policy violated, examples of allowed and disallowed content, active restrictions, what happens on a repeat, and how to appeal (same Meta page). 3. **Request a review if you are compliant.** Select the account, pick the violation, **Request Review**, add your supporting details and submit. Meta says the decision typically takes 24 to 48 hours, either "Unchanged" or "Reversed". Not every spam violation can be appealed: sometimes you have to wait for the restriction to end. 4. **Fix the cause before resuming.** Contact list, template classification, send frequency: resume with small volumes to contacts who have opted in. ## How do I prevent error 368? * **Only message people who agreed to it**, and give them a simple way to stop receiving your marketing messages. * **Classify your templates honestly.** A promotion is not a utility message. * **Watch quality before the penalty.** Subscribe an endpoint to `account_update` and `phone_number_quality_update` ([Webhooks](https://wa.genuka.com/en/docs/webhooks)): falling quality shows up before a restriction does. * **Keep an eye on [131048](https://wa.genuka.com/en/docs/errors/131048)**: sends limited after blocks or reports are often the early warning. ## Related error codes * `131031`: account restricted or disabled, or request data that does not match the account (a wrong two-step verification PIN, for instance). * [131048](https://wa.genuka.com/en/docs/errors/131048): sends limited after too many blocked or reported messages. * `130497`: account barred from messaging users in certain countries. * `131064`: messaging limit imposed after template classification violations. ## FAQ ### How long does a restriction last? It depends on severity and repetition: 1 or 3 days for templates, 5, 7 or 30 days for all sends, and an open-ended lock until an appeal succeeds. The `ACCOUNT_RESTRICTION` event carries the end date when there is one; if it was not forwarded to you, Business Support Home lists the active restrictions. ### Can Genuka lift the restriction? No. The decision and the review belong to Meta. Genuka relays the error and the account events; the appeal is made from the business's Business Support Home. ### Are my other customers affected? No. The restriction applies to one WhatsApp Business account. Your other customers' accounts are not concerned. ### Should I retry the refused sends? Not during the restriction. Resume after its end date, or after a "Reversed" decision. ## Sources * [Meta — Error codes](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/support/error-codes) * [Meta — Policy enforcement](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/policy-enforcement) * [Meta — account\_update webhook](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/webhooks/reference/account_update) * [Meta — Graph API, Handling errors](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/guides/error-handling)