Would you like to permanently delete your account on WhatsApp? Make it so that others cannot see you anymore on their contact lists? The guide I put together here can help you remove your account from either an iPhone or Android device.
Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. My name is Frankie, and I am an instant messaging expert – so I am qualified to be your guide today.
At the end of this short article, you will know all the necessary steps to delete WhatsApp account quickly. Be mindful, however, that uninstalling the application is not what you need to do to permanently remove yourself from the service and your friends’ contact lists. Removing the application from your phone only takes the app out of sight for you, but does nothing to the account associated with your phone number.
So, if you reach the point where you wish to delete WhatsApp for some reason such as: your phone has been stolen, you want to clear your presence from social media, or you are just changing your phone number – here are the ways that you can do this.
I would also like to take some time and describe what happens when you delete your WhatsApp account. The last portion of the guide shows you how to reactivate your deleted account should you change your mind.
So, let’s not waste any more time and get right to it.
Frankie’s Take:
If you only want to make it so that people cannot see your profile picture, last seen activity, or your status, I have put together an article about how to be invisible on WhatsApp. Check it out!
Deleting a WhatsApp Account Permanently
In the beginning of this guide, I will show you step-by-step how you can delete your WhatsApp account for good. Here are the exact steps you need to follow (and fortunately they are the same for both Android devices and iPhones.)
- Beginning running WhatsApp on your phone and choose “Settings“. Head from here over to the “Account” section.
- Tap on the option “Delete My Account” and enter your mobile phone number (country code included) into the provided space.
- Press “Delete My Account” again at the bottom of the screen.
- Your account from the service will now be deleted from your smartphone.
As you can see, the process itself is not overly complicated.
But wait.
Before you proceed with deleting your account on WhatsApp, I would explain what you might encounter through doing so.
The first thing that you need to know is that permanently deleting your account from the service removes all messages/attachments. Anything with photos, audio, or videos will be deleted forever. Even if you decide to reactivate your account in the future with the same credentials, you will no longer have access to this conversation history or exchanged messages.
Here is exactly what will happen when you get rid of your WhatsApp account:
- Your phone number and information will be removed from the contact lists where you have been.
- Your phone number becomes unlinked from WhatsApp
- You will get removed from any WhatsApp groups where you have subscribed
- Your entire message history will be removed and deleted
- Any Google Drive backup content will be deleted
- All chat backups will get deleted
- All of your account information and data saved on WhatsApp gets permanently deleted (theoretically at least) from WhatsApp servers.
- Reactivation does not bring this information like your chat history back
To put it simply, deleting your WhatsApp account leaves no trace of what you have done throughout your time with the app – it is as if you never had WhatsApp at all.
Frankie’s Take:
As you have seen, deleting the account from the app permanently has direct consequences. For many, this only should be a last resort option. There are reasons, like when your phone gets stolen and your WhatsApp account has sensitive information to delete this account. But even in this case, I have a guide about what to do to protect your privacy on WhatsApp if your phone gets stolen. Check it out!
Deleting a WhatsApp Account Temporarily
The second part of this guide shows you how you can delete your account temporarily.
If you want to get away from WhatsApp for a little while to avoid distractions, or you want to have some time for yourself without hearing from everyone you know – follow these simple steps.
For those with an iPhone, do this:
- From your iPhone home screen, long press the WhatsApp icon until it begins to shake.
- Click the “X” in the top corner of this box to delete the app and its data from the device.
For those with Androids, do this:
- Find your WhatsApp icon and hold it for a few seconds.
- Tap on “Uninstall” when the popup generates.
Alternatively, open up “Settings” on your phone and head over to the “App” section. Search for WhatsApp among the others installed on your phone. Choose it and then choose to uninstall.
These steps do not permanently delete your account from the service, but just the functionality of the app on your phone until you reinstall it. What this means is that you do not lose your chat history, media content, and your place in groups that you have subscribed to.
If you choose to return to WhatsApp, all you need to do is reinstall the application and connect it back to your phone number. Upload the available backup and it will be like you never left.
Frankie’s Take:
Before you uninstall WhatsApp from your iPhone or Android, I recommend backing it up. This is easy to do, just get in WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup Now.
How To Delete Your WhatsApp Account without a Phone
A question that many have asked me regarding deleting WhatsApp accounts is how to accomplish this without using a phone.
Unfortunately, there is no process that allows you to remotely remove your account from a device. The only effective approach for doing this is contacting WhatsApp by email.
You can do this by following these few steps:
- Open up your email client (Gmail, Mail, Outlook, etc.) and begin composing a new message to the address support@whatsapp.com
- Make your email subject: Smartphone Lost/Stolen: Please Deactivate My Account
- In the body of the message, write: Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account (followed by your linked phone number with the country code). Ex: 1(646) 934-6587.
The drawback to this approach is that it can take up to 30 days for the account to get deleted.
Frankie’s Take:
I should warn you – usually WhatsApp does not reply to this kind of email so don’t worry if you do not hear something back. They do not have the time. However, they will take care of the deletion.
Reactivating a Deleted WhatsApp Account
It is always possible to reactivate your account once you have deleted it.
All you need to do is follow instructions for a new account, enter the phone number you used before, and wait for the verification to reactivate.
FAQs About WhatsApp Account Deletion
Through this section, I want to take a moment to answer some of the questions that I receive most often about WhatsApp account deletions and reactivation.
How does my WhatsApp profile appear to my friends/contacts after I delete my account?
Your contacts no longer see anything about you, including your profile image. Anyone searching for you and wanting to start a new conversation then has the opportunity to invite you to the service.
Are there any alternatives for deleting WhatsApp?
Deleting a WhatsApp account is a difficult step that is permanent in many ways. As I told you through this guide, you will lose your chats, files, photos, videos, and any other content. In case you want to temporarily stop using WhatsApp, it is more beneficial just to delete the app from your device.
If you have considered deleting your account because someone is bothering you or even harassing you, you have options to block users. I have a step-by-step guide on blocking a WhatsApp contact. Check it out!
Is it worth it to back-up my WhatsApp account before deleting?
We highly recommend making a backup of your information and chat history before you delete. I suggest to users to set up automatic backups to take the pressures off always remembering to do it manually.
Conclusion
I think I have given you all the information that you need about deleting your WhatsApp account.
Hopefully the information from this guide has helped you in this process as it has helped so many others..
Before we part ways, bear with me as I quickly recap what we went over to make sure you did not miss something pertinent.
The first part of this guide was all about how you can delete your WhatsApp account permanently using your iPhone or Android device. This is a big and final action, as you will lose all of the content from your account, including media and chat history.
The second part of the guide was dedicated to temporarily removing WhatsApp by deleting the app from your device. This is reversible and does not cost you any account information or chat history.
Next, I showed you that is possible to remove your account permanently without having a phone by emailing the administrators of WhatsApp directly.
Finally, I talked about reactivating your deleted account and took a few minutes to answer some of the most common questions that people have on the topic.
That’s all I have to share on the subject.
If you have any more questions or concerns, you can always reach me through the comment section below. I will be happy to help.
Come back soon for more new information, tips, tricks, and WhatsApp hacks.
A hug,
PS – You might also want to know how to permanently delete a WhatsApp contact, click here to find out.
