Facebook-owned Whatsapp is the largest instant messaging service worldwide but lately, the platform — much like others from the social networking giant — has increasingly become intrusive and isn’t in the good books of privacy advocates.
So, if you’ve found a suitable alternative for your messaging needs and want to get rid of your Whatsapp account, we’ve got you covered here. But before you go ahead and delete your Whatsapp account, check out what happens once you delete your account.
What happens when you delete your Whatsapp account?
Before you delete your Whatsapp account, we recommend you go through the following list, which briefly explains what happens once you delete your Whatsapp account.
- Deleting your Whatsapp account is a permanent and irreversible process. Once you’ve deleted the account, you’ll need to create a new one.
- You’ll be removed from all the Whatsapp groups.
- All of the message history will be erased. However, Whatsapp retains a copy of your data for up to 90 days in their backup storage after the deletion request is processed. You can’t access this data.
- Any chat history, media sent will still be accessible to all the contacts, it won’t be deleted for them.
- Certain log records will also potentially remain with Whatsapp, but the company claims that these are “disassociated from personal identifiers”.
- Whatsapp may also keep a copy of your data, if applicable, for any legal issues, term violations or harm prevention efforts.
- Any personal data shared with Facebook’s subsidiaries will also be deleted. These include Facebook Payments Inc., Onavo, Facebook Technologies LLC, Facebook Technologies Ireland Limited, WhatsApp Inc., WhatsApp Ireland Limited and CrowdTangle.
- Your Google Drive backup will also be deleted.
Also read: How to download a WhatsApp Status?
How to delete your Whatsapp account on iOS?
Open Whatsapp on your iPhone and follow the steps mentioned below to delete your account.
- Tap on the Settings tab at the bottom-right of the app’s home screen.
- Then tap on Accounts.
- On the next page, tap on Delete My Account.
- On the next page, first, enter your phone number under Enter Your Phone Number and then tap on the Delete My Account option.
- On the next page, you can give feedback if you feel like, it’s completely optional. Then tap on the Next button at the top-right corner of the screen.
- On the next page, tap on the Delete My Account option at the bottom of the screen.
Also read: What does last seen mean on WhatsApp?
How to delete your Whatsapp account on Android?
Open Whatsapp on your Android device and follow the steps mentioned below to delete your account.
- Tap on the triple-dot menu icon at the top-right of the app’s home screen.
- Then tap on Settings from the dropdown list.
- On the next page, tap on Account.
- Then tap on Delete my account option at the bottom of the screen.
- On the next page, first, enter the phone number and then tap on Delete My Account option at the bottom of the screen.
- On the next page, you can give feedback if you feel like, it’s completely optional. Then tap on the Next button at the top-right corner of the screen.
- On the next page, tap on the Delete My Account option at the bottom of the screen.
Also read: How to Unarchive a chat in WhatsApp?
How to delete your account on KaiOS?
- Press Options.
- Then Settings > Account > Delete my account.
- Now select the country code and your phone number.
- Press Delete > Delete.
Also read: How to create a Whatsapp group link in iPhone?
Alternatives: Uninstall or Change the number
You can alternatively also uninstall the Whatsapp app from your device. Uninstall the app from your device’s settings or directly from the app board. Uninstalling the app won’t delete your Whatsapp account, but it will only be temporarily deactivated. If you’ve created a backup of your data on iCloud or Google Drive, all of your chats will be restored when you reinstall the app and sign in again. You also won’t be removed from any groups and will continue to be the admin of those you are.
Also, you can change your number instead of deleting your Whatsapp account altogether. Instead of tapping on the Delete My Account option, tap on the Change Number link at the bottom or top of the iOS and Android apps, respectively.
Also read: How to export your WhatsApp chat history to PC from Android and iPhone?
