How to delete or deactivate your WhatsApp account

WhatsApp is the most popular Instant Messaging platform in the world, and it got there by providing a fairly seamless onboarding and usage experience. But what if you don’t want to use WhatsApp anymore? As far as deleting accounts goes, permanently deleting your WhatsApp account is actually one of the easier processes. Here’s everything you need to know about deactivating your WhatsApp account for good.

The essentials

• WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Delete my Account.
• Deleting your account is permanent.
• It can take up to 90 days from deletion for WhatsApp to delete all of your account information.

How to delete your WhatsApp account on your phone

While WhatsApp may have a desktop application, to delete your account, you need to do so on your phone. The steps for saying goodbye to your WhatsApp account are virtually the same for iPhone as they are for Android. Here’s what to do:

• Open WhatsApp and tap on the three dots in the upper right corner to access your Settings.
• Click on account and then navigate to Delete my account.
• Enter your mobile phone number, including your country code, and then tap DELETE MY ACCOUNT.

And that’s all there is to it. We’ve also covered how to delete your Facebook account and your Instagram account.

What happens when you delete your WhatsApp Account

Deactivating your WhatsApp account is irreversible, meaning you won’t be able to get it back once it’s gone, and you’ll have to sign up as a new user. Here are a few things to remember before deleting your account.

• Deleting your account will erase your message history.
• WhatsApp will remove you from any active WhatsApp groups.
• WhatsApp will also delete your Google Drive WhatsApp backup.
• As soon as you click DELETE MY ACCOUNT, you will no longer be able to regain access to your WhatsApp account.

How long does it take for WhatsApp to delete your information?

While you will lose access to your WhatsApp account immediately, it can take up to 90 days for WhatsApp to delete all of your information. Even after 90 days, copies of this data can still remain in backup storage.

WhatsApp is also transparent about keeping specific log data in their databases after account deletion. However, it says this is disassociated from the user’s account and cannot be linked back. For more information on how WhatsApp uses and stores your data, visit their Privacy Policy.

If you’re trying to get rid of WhatsApp, we hope this helps you. If you have any further questions, drop them in the comments.