Use Settings › Account › Delete account to remove your WhatsApp account. It cannot be undone. Just deleting the app from your phone does not delete your account.
What deleting does
- Removes your account, profile photo and About.
- Deletes your message history on this phone and your backup on Google Drive or iCloud.
- Removes you from all WhatsApp groups and channels you own or follow.
- Contacts will no longer see you on WhatsApp. Messages they already have with you stay on their phones.
- Full deletion of your information can take up to about 90 days, but nobody can reach you on WhatsApp during that time.
Before you delete
- Save chats you want: open a chat › tap the name › Export chat to send it to yourself as a file (Android: chat ⋮ › More › Export chat).
- If you are the only admin of a group, make someone else admin first.
- Only changing your number or phone? Don't delete. Use Change number or move WhatsApp instead.
- Your WhatsApp Business account, if any, is separate and must be deleted in that app.
On Android
- Tap ⋮ › Settings › Account › Delete account.
- Type your phone number with the country code.
- Tap Delete account, pick a reason if you like, and tap Delete account again.
On iPhone
- Tap Settings › Account › Delete Account.
- Type your phone number.
- Tap Delete Account, choose a reason, and confirm.
Just want a break?
- Uninstalling the app keeps your account: people can still send messages, which arrive when you return.
- To be less disturbed instead, hide your last seen (privacy) and mute or archive chats (how).
If it doesn't work
- "Number doesn't match": type it exactly as registered, with the right country code and no 0.
- Option missing: you are on a linked device; delete from your main phone.
- Lost the phone? You can't delete from another phone, but you can ask WhatsApp to deactivate it (see hacked or lost phone).
Safety tip
If you sell or give away the phone afterwards, also remove the SIM and reset the phone so nobody finds your photos or old files.
This is GroupChatOn’s own easy guide. We are not WhatsApp and are not linked with WhatsApp or Meta. WhatsApp sometimes changes its menus: if a button looks different on your phone, update WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store.
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