At the tail-end of January, it was reported that WhatsApp had begun short-lived suspensions of users that were using third-party apps to utilize the service.

Those temporary suspensions are starting to get upgraded to permanent bans, according to several users that are suffering the anger of WhatsApp and its developers. It’s no secret that many WhatsApp users access the service through third-party apps, like WhatsApp+, which is not available through the Google Play Store directly, but does offer more features than the stock WhatsApp option.

The fact that users are using those third-party apps isn’t sitting well with WhatsApp, though, and so many users are reportedly getting permanently banned from the service for their perceived transgressions. If there’s a plus side to this, many users are being warned that if they continue to use a third-party app they’ll get banned, before they are actually banned.

If a user is permanently banned, WhatsApp is banning the phone number, which means that even if the banned individual wants to switch over to the official WhatsApp application, they won’t be able to send or receive messages. It’s also worth noting that these third-party applications aren’t actually under development anymore, after Facebook sent them notices that their apps broke WhatsApp user terms.

Have you used a third-party WhatsApp option? Why did you stop?