Google seems to have added WhatsApp phone numbers to tons of Google Business Profiles automatically over the past week. Google has sent email notifications to some of those businesses, and in some cases, the numbers are wrong or they are not reachable.
I spotted complaints about this both on the Local Search Forum and on X. Len Raleigh said "Huge wave of (incorrect) WhatsApp numbers being added to Google Business Profiles right now." Rhea Velgos said, "Over the weekend, we received emails from Google regarding three profiles that were updated with a WhatsApp chat link in the Chat field."
The issue is, if the number is wrong or inaccessible, there is currently no way to delete those numbers. In the Local Search Forum, it says Claudia Tomina, who is a Google product expert, "confirmed this is a bug and Google is actively working on fixing it."
Here is what the email looks like:
But you should really check your Google Business Profile to make sure you did not miss the email.
Rhea added:
The WhatsApp phone number shown on each profile matches the practice's main phone number. However, these are landline numbers and do not support text messaging or WhatsApp functionality. When we attempt to remove the WhatsApp number from the profile, Google does not allow us to do so.
I heard Google is working on it
— Len (@lenraleigh) June 8, 2026
Yes! Today, we're able to delete them and save changes.
— Len (@lenraleigh) June 10, 2026
Forum discussion at Local Search Forum and X.
