A fast-growing AI assistant called Instinct is under scrutiny after users complained that it stopped replying on WhatsApp, and one of them claimed his WhatsApp account was banned soon after he signed up.
What Is Instinct?
Instinct is an invite-only AI assistant run by Spear Street Technology. It was founded by 23-year-old Noah Shinn, a former Sierra research scientist. There is no standalone app.
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Users text or call it, and it handles tasks such as appointments, reservations, rides, inbox management, shopping and flight searches over SMS, WhatsApp and voice.
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The startup has become one of Silicon Valley's most talked-about names, with travel booking a key use.
What Users Are Saying
Several WhatsApp users complained on social media in recent days that Instinct had stopped replying to their messages. One of them, Atharva Padhye, went further. In a post on X on October 31, he said his WhatsApp account was banned right after he signed up for Instinct, with no way to appeal and no response from support.
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WTF. My account was banned on WhatsApp right after I signed up on Instinct. No way to appeal. No response from support. Please help @WhatsApp @kunalb11 @instinct https://t.co/2to9TN4PuZ
— Atharva Padhye (@almostpaddy) October 31, 2026
His screenshot carries the message "This account can't use WhatsApp", with a request date of October 27. It says recent activity "doesn't follow our Terms of Service" and that requesting a review is not available.
The Company's Response
On November 2, Shinn posted that Instinct had been unable to reply to WhatsApp users for part of the morning. He blamed a configuration issue on the company's side that interrupted payments to one of its service providers.
An update on WhatsApp service For part of this morning, Instinct wasn't able to reply to users on WhatsApp because a configuration issue on our side interrupted payments to one of our service providers. The issue has now been resolved, and WhatsApp is working normally again. Messages you sent us during the outage were received, and we're following up with anyone who didn't get a response. We're sorry for the disruption and are making changes to prevent it from happening again. We'll keep you informed whenever something like this affects Instinct.
— Noah Shinn (@noahrshinn) November 2, 2026
He said the issue was resolved, that messages sent during the outage had been received, and that the team was following up with anyone who got no response. He apologised and said changes were being made to prevent a repeat.
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Why The Dispute Matters
Instinct depends on messaging platforms it does not control. WhatsApp's owner, Meta, has its own competing assistant, Muse, while OpenAI has launched Dots.
That makes any friction between assistants and WhatsApp's rules significant. WhatsApp's terms restrict unauthorised automated use of its service, but nothing so far shows those rules were applied to Instinct's users.
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