WhatsApp has nearly made the default messaging apps redundant on all smartphones the world over. This fact is confirmed by users’ sharing and exchanging important contents like documents, photos, and audio/video. Given the value of this third-party chat client, you cannot afford to misplace your smart phone, let alone lose it altogether. And if you lose your phone or if it is stolen (God forbid), what should be your next action? Well, you need to delete or deactivate WhatsApp if your iPhone or Android Phone is lost or stolen.
When your iPhone or Android is stolen, your WhatsApp media and data can be misused. If you are using an Android phone, you can find, lock and erase data on your lost Android phone. Similarly, when your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can erase your iPhone data remotely. This should be your last action when there is no hope of recovery of your device. In case you wish to deactivate WhatsApp account only on your iPhone and Android Phone, you need to follow the steps given below.
How to Deactivate WhatsApp if Phone is Lost or Stolen
Table of Contents
How to Deactivate SIM Card on Your Phone
Deactivating SIM card on your phone is the safest way to protect your WhatsApp account. When your phone’s SIM card is locked, nobody can access your WhatsApp account.
Step #1: Contact your carrier (mobile service provider) to report the loss of SIM card.
Step #2: Register your request to lock the SIM card on your phone.
You can also ask your carrier to lock the device if you have got IMEI code of your phone.
If you buy a new phone, you can use the same old number with new SIM card to activate WhatsApp. This is perhaps the fastest way to deactivate WhatsApp account on your stolen phone as WhatsApp cannot be activated with one phone number on two devices at a time.
How to Deactivate WhatsApp Account on iPhone and Android
Step #1: Send an email to support@whatsapp.com.
Step #2: While drafting an email, your subject line should be: Phone stolen/lost: Please deactivate my account.
Step #3: In the email body, give your mobile number. Please type your mobile number with your country code (start with ‘+’ and then country code).
When your SIM card is locked and phone service deactivated, you can use WhatsApp on Wi-Fi if you don’t send an account deactivation request to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp cannot help you find your lost or stolen phone as Remote WhatsApp deactivation from another phone is not possible.
You can restore your chat history if you have created a backup of your WhatsApp data using Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive.
When your WhatsApp Account is Deactivated and Deleted
- Your account is not deleted completely.
- Your profile is still visible to your contacts.
- Your contacts can send you WhatsApp messages; those messages will be stored in pending state for up to 30 days.
- You will get any pending messages on your new phone in case you reactivate your WhatsApp account before it is deleted.
- If you fail to activate your WhatsApp account within 30 days, it will be deleted completely.
That’s it!
Has your phone ever got stolen or misplaced? What would you do if your phone is stolen? Share your feedback with us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.