You might be among the users that will ditch WhatsApp once it fulfils the promise of losing functionality for people who don’t accept the new terms of service. If you choose this decision, we’re going to show you how to delete your WhatsApp account, as well as some pre-requisites that I personally recommend before you do so.
Important to note is that deleting the WhatsApp app from your iPhone or Android smartphone won’t delete your account. It will still be active, only that messages or calls won’t be able to reach you. They will, as soon as you reinstall the app. That doesn’t change the fact that your (and your contacts’) data is still accessible to WhatsApp and Facebook.
Also read: How to record WhatsApp calls on iPhone and android with these easy steps
Before you delete your WhatsApp account, you can follow this simple step if you want. Go to Settings > Request Account info. This allows you to download your WhatsApp data The process might take a couple of business days as WhatsApp needs to compile everything it has on you and deliver your report.
Once a couple of days pass by you’ll get a notification that your report is ready. Hit Download, save the “My Account Info.zip” file and take a look inside. That’s everything WhatsApp claims to have on you. Inside, among many other things, you’ll find an HTML file with your display picture, phone number, email address, device activity, status, and all of your contacts’ phone numbers.
Download your WhatsApp data
First things first, I recommend you go inside WhatsApp, Settings, hit Account, and Request Account Info. This process might take a couple of business days as WhatsApp needs to compile everything it has on you and deliver your report.
Once a couple of days pass by you’ll get a notification that your report is ready. Hit Download, save the “My Account Info.zip” file and take a look inside. That’s everything WhatsApp claims to have on you. Inside, among many other things, you’ll find an HTML file with your display picture, phone number, email address, device activity, status, and all of your contacts’ phone numbers.
There are also bits about your carrier, device, registration date, and status for your Terms of Service. The zip also contains a JSON file you can read, with pretty much the same data as the HTML file.
Save your WhatsApp media and conversations
While you wait for your report to be generated, I highly suggest you go through your conversations and save every piece of media (photo, video, voice message, etc.) that you might have not yet saved. This is for safety purposes, as the app you’re migrating to might not have WhatsApp data import capabilities.
You can also screenshot conversations if you feel like there’s something worth holding on to visually. If you only care about the plain text version of your conversation, you can hit the three dots on Android (or the name of your contact in the conversation on iOS), and select Export chat from the menu. Then it’s up to you whether you want to include media in that particular chat or not.
Read also: How to allow or block iPhone apps from tracking you in iOS 14.5
How to delete your WhatsApp account on iPhone
Deleting your WhatsApp account on your iPhone (or iOS device) is a simple process. Follow the steps below if you’re ready to pull the trigger.
Step 1: Launch WhatsApp;
Step 2: Tap Settings on the right end of the bottom button bar;
Step 3: Go to Account;
Step 4: Hit Delete My Account;
Step 5: Enter your phone number, as registered with WhatsApp;
Step 6: Tap the red Delete My Account button.
*The app might ask you to select a reason for your choice to delete your WhatsApp account. Do that!
How to delete your WhatsApp account on Android
If you are using an Android device and you want to delete your WhatsApp account, the process is pretty straightforward. Just follow the steps below.
*The app might ask you to select a reason for your choice to delete your WhatsApp account. Do that!
Step 1: Launch WhatsApp;
Step 2: Hit the menu button (the three dots) on the top right;
Step 3: Select Settings;
Step 4: Go to Account;
Step 5: Tap Delete My Account;
Step 6: Enter your phone number as registered with WhatsApp;
Step 7: Hit Delete My Account.
*The app might ask you to select a reason for your choice to delete your WhatsApp account. Do that!
What happens after you delete your WhatsApp account
According to WhatsApp, deleting your account will trigger the following actions: obviously, your account will be deleted; your message history will be erased; you will be removed from all groups you have previously joined; your Google Drive and/or iCloud chat backups will also be deleted.
Beware that it might take 90 days from the moment you delete your account for the process to finalize. You won’t be able to regain access to your account. Also, note that the messages you sent will not be deleted from the receiving party’s end.
WhatsApp may hold on to certain bits related to you. You can read about those by accessing this link.
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