If you delete and reinstall WhatsApp, your account will not be deleted. Your chat history, groups, media, and settings will still be there when you reinstall WhatsApp and log back into your account. Here’s a more detailed look at what happens when you delete and reinstall WhatsApp:
Your Account Remains Intact
When you delete WhatsApp from your device, your account is not deleted from WhatsApp’s servers. Your phone number remains registered to your account. So when you reinstall WhatsApp and verify your phone number, it reactivates your existing account.
You Don’t Lose Your Chat History
Your entire chat history – all your conversations, photos, videos, voice messages, files, etc. are stored on WhatsApp’s servers. So even after deleting and reinstalling the app, your chat history will be pulled back down onto your device when you log back in.
Your Media Files Are Preserved
Any media files you received or shared on WhatsApp – photos, videos, voice messages, documents, etc. – are not deleted when you uninstall the app. These files are saved on your device’s internal storage. So after reinstalling WhatsApp, all your media files will still be available.
You Don’t Lose Any Groups
When you uninstall WhatsApp, you don’t get removed from any of the WhatsApp groups you are a part of. Your group memberships are saved remotely. So when you rejoin WhatsApp, you will still remain a participant in all your groups.
Your Settings Are Restored
Most of your WhatsApp settings – your profile info, notification settings, chat wallpapers, privacy settings etc. – are synced to your account. After reinstalling the app, these settings will be restored to how you had left them previously.
You May Temporarily Lose Some Info
While your main account data remains intact, you may temporarily lose some minor information like your last seen time, any status updates you had posted, and read receipts for recent messages. But this data will be populated again within 24 hours after reinstalling WhatsApp.
How to Backup Your WhatsApp Data
Even though your WhatsApp account and data will remain safe if you reinstall the app, it’s still a good idea to backup your chats. This provides an extra layer of protection in case something goes wrong during the reinstallation process.
There are two ways to backup your WhatsApp data:
- Google Drive backup – WhatsApp lets you automatically backup your chats to Google Drive. You can enable it in WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Local backup – You can also locally backup WhatsApp to your phone’s internal storage or SD card. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up to create a local backup.
How to Retain Your Media After Uninstalling WhatsApp
To make sure you don’t lose any of your WhatsApp media files when uninstalling the app, you need to copy them to another location on your device:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Chats > Chat History.
- Tap on Media auto-download and disable options like Photos, Audio, Videos, and Documents.
- This prevents new media from automatically saving to your phone’s storage.
- Use a file manager app to copy WhatsApp media files from your phone’s internal storage to another location like an SD card or cloud storage.
- Once copying is complete, you can safely uninstall WhatsApp without losing your media.
How to Transfer Your WhatsApp Data to a New Phone
If you are deleting WhatsApp from your old phone and want to transfer your account to a new device, here are the steps to follow:
- Back up your WhatsApp data on your old phone to Google Drive or locally to storage.
- Install WhatsApp on your new phone and verify your phone number.
- On the ‘Restore Chat History’ prompt, restore data from your Google Drive or local backup.
- Once restoration is complete, your chats, groups, media etc. will sync from the old device to the new one.
- You can now safely delete WhatsApp from your old phone, while seamlessly continuing to use it on your new device.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages?
If you have accidentally deleted important WhatsApp messages, there are a few ways to try and recover them:
- Restore from Google Drive backup – If the message was deleted recently, restoring your latest Google Drive backup may retrieve it.
- Use data recovery apps – Apps like Dr.Fone and Fonelab can scan your phone and extract residual data like deleted messages.
- Retrieve from notification log – On Android, deleted messages may still be visible in your phone’s notification log history.
- Ask the sender – If the deleted message was recent, you can request the sender to resend it to you.
However, if the message was deleted a long time ago, it likely cannot be recovered by any means.
Can You Tell if Someone Deleted and Reinstalled WhatsApp?
There is no definitive way to know if someone has deleted and reinstalled WhatsApp. However, here are some signs that may indicate a contact has reinstalled WhatsApp:
- Their profile photo, about info, and last seen status have suddenly disappeared from your chat.
- All previous messages show as sent by an unknown number instead of their name.
- They disappeared from all common WhatsApp groups and had to rejoin.
- You cannot see their status updates anymore.
- They have lost access to old messages and media exchanged between you.
However, even if someone has reinstalled WhatsApp, their account remains the same. Your chat history with them is still intact. Only some minor account details temporarily go away before restoring after reactivation.
What Happens When You Delete WhatsApp Without a Backup?
If you delete WhatsApp without backing up your data, here’s what will happen:
- Your account will remain intact, but…
- You will lose your entire chat history – all conversations, photos, videos, voice messages, etc. shared on WhatsApp will be erased.
- You will be removed from all WhatsApp groups. You’ll have to be re-added to each group manually.
- Your media files like photos, videos, documents exchanged on WhatsApp will be deleted.
- You will have to set up your WhatsApp account from scratch, like a new user.
So it’s crucial to always backup your WhatsApp data before uninstalling the app. This prevents permanent data loss.
Should You Delete WhatsApp When Switching Phones?
It is not necessary to delete WhatsApp when changing your phone. You can simply transfer your WhatsApp account seamlessly from your old phone to your new phone:
- First, back up your WhatsApp data on your old phone.
- Then on your new phone, install WhatsApp and verify your number.
- Restore your chat history from the backup during WhatsApp’s setup.
- This will transfer your chats, media, settings etc. from your old phone to your new phone.
- Once data is transferred, you can uninstall WhatsApp from your old device if you want.
Is Any Data Lost When Transferring WhatsApp to a New Phone?
As long as you restore your WhatsApp backup properly when moving to a new phone, no data is lost during the transfer process. Your entire chat history, groups, media files, and settings seamlessly sync from your old device to the new one.
However, there are a couple of minor details that may not get carried over when changing phones:
- Your last seen status and any status updates you had posted on your old phone will not transfer over.
- Read receipts for recent messages may show as unread on the new phone.
- You may miss some latest messages received right before the transfer.
But besides these small details, your full WhatsApp account including chat history gets successfully transferred to a new phone.
Can You Use WhatsApp on Multiple Devices?
Earlier, WhatsApp could only be used on one phone at a time by linking to your phone number. But now, WhatsApp supports multi-device capability using which you can use WhatsApp on up to 4 devices simultaneously including:
- 1 phone (primary device)
- 1 tablet
- 1 desktop computer (WhatsApp Web/Desktop app)
- 1 secondary phone (linked device)
To use WhatsApp on multiple devices:
- Update to the latest WhatsApp version on your primary phone.
- Tap on Linked Devices and multi-device beta.
- Use the QR code to link your other devices to your primary WhatsApp account.
Once linked, you can use WhatsApp on multiple devices at the same time without needing your primary phone to stay connected at all times.
Should You Delete WhatsApp When Getting a New Number?
If you’re getting a new phone number, you don’t need to delete WhatsApp. You can change the phone number linked to your WhatsApp account.
Here are the steps to update to a new number on WhatsApp:
- Install WhatsApp on your phone and enter your new number.
- Open WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Change Number.
- Enter your old number and tap Next. Enter the SMS verification code.
- Your new number will now be linked to your account. You can delete WhatsApp from your old number if you want.
This way, you can change your WhatsApp number without losing your chat history, groups, and media.
Should I Delete WhatsApp When Switching from Android to iPhone?
You don’t need to delete WhatsApp if changing phones from Android to iPhone. You can move your WhatsApp data by transferring your account:
- On your Android phone, back up your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive.
- On your iPhone, install WhatsApp and log in using the same phone number.
- Allow WhatsApp to access your Google Drive backup when prompted.
- Your chats, media, groups etc. will be restored from the backup to your iPhone.
By properly transferring your account, you can switch from Android to iOS without losing any WhatsApp data.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp Installation Issues
Some common WhatsApp installation problems and how to fix them:
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp keeps crashing on launch | Clear app cache/data, restart phone, update WhatsApp to latest version |
| WhatsApp gets stuck on ‘Verifying number’ | Check internet connection, restart phone, reinstall WhatsApp |
| WhatsApp verification SMS not received | Contact carrier for SMS issues, install WhatsApp on different device |
| WhatsApp can’t restore chat history | Check Google Drive backup, reconnect to internet, uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp |
Conclusion
In summary:
- Deleting and reinstalling WhatsApp does not delete your account or chat history as it is backed up remotely.
- Always remember to backup chats before uninstalling to avoid permanent data loss.
- Your chat history, groups, media, and settings seamlessly transfer to a new device when you migrate your account.
- WhatsApp now supports multi-device usage so you can use it on up to 4 devices at once.
- If switching phones, transferring your account is better than deleting WhatsApp to retain your data.
So in most cases, there is no need to delete your WhatsApp account. You can simply backup your data and restore it on a new device or number to continue using WhatsApp uninterrupted.