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How to delete contacts off whatsapp


How to Delete Contacts on WhatsApp

By Aya Masango

Declutter your WhatsApp phonebook.

You've broken up with your ex or fallen out with someone and want to rid your phone of their existence. After unfollowing them on your social media accounts, there's only one thing left to do: delete their WhatsApp contact.

Fortunately, that's easy to do. Keep reading to learn how to delete a contact on WhatsApp, so you don't come across it again.

WhatsApp allows you to clear and delete WhatsApp chats, but you can delete contacts, too. Of course, blocking someone on WhatsApp is an option, but you'd still have them as a contact. Sometimes, you just want to be done with someone for good, and you don't want to see their name on your phone—not even on your blocked list.

Here's how to delete a WhatsApp contact on iOS:

  1. Open the WhatsApp app on your mobile phone.
  2. Find the contact you want to delete, open the chat, and tap the contact's name at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap Edit > Delete Contact > Delete Contact.

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On Android, select the contact > three-dot menu > View contact > three-dot menu > View in address book > three-dot menu > Delete.

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Note that you can only delete WhatsApp contacts on the mobile app. When you delete a contact, the chat will remain unless you clear and delete it.

When you delete a contact on WhatsApp, it gets deleted from your phone, too. That may be fortunate or unfortunate, depending on your reasons for deleting it. If you only want to delete a contact on WhatsApp but keep it on your phone, consider saving that person's contact details elsewhere.

You can email them to yourself or save them in your notes app. Better yet, send yourself a message on WhatsApp with the contact details you intend to save to avoid juggling too many apps. Once that's done, proceed to delete the WhatsApp contact. You can then add the contact on your phone again.

Reduce Your WhatsApp Clutter

There's no point in holding on to the WhatsApp contacts of people you don't talk to or have no intentions of contacting in the future. It would only clutter your app (and your phone). Delete unwanted WhatsApp contacts to let your app breathe.

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Related Topics

  • Social Media
  • WhatsApp
  • Social Media Tips
  • Contact Management
  • Instant Messaging

About The Author

Aya has been a copywriter since 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Marketing Management Honors degree and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Marketing/Management and Media & Cultural Studies. She's been a marketing consultant and freelance writer for international websites, writing about cybersecurity, tech, media, social media, and more, since 2019.

How to Delete a WhatsApp Contact on a Mobile Device

  • You can easily delete a WhatsApp contact; however, note that when you delete a contact in WhatsApp, the contact will also be deleted on your phone itself.
  • Another option is to first delete the contact from your phone, which will automatically delete the contact from WhatsApp as well.
  • This story is a part of Business Insider's Guide to WhatsApp.

If you're like pretty much all of us, your phone is probably filled with contacts that you've never called or messaged. 

From that handyman who helped fix your bathroom three summers ago, to that friend who moved away and then fell off the face of the earth in 2014, you've probably been confronted by a dozen or more of these pointless contacts every time you open WhatsApp.

Whether based on disuse or dislike, do yourself a favor and delete any WhatsApp contacts you no longer need.

Here's how to do it.

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How to delete a WhatsApp contact

1. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone or Android device, tap "Chats" and then tap the pencil icon in the top-right corner.

2. Tap on the contact to be deleted, then tap on their name at the top of the screen.

3. Tap the word "Edit" at the top-right corner of the screen.

After you delete a contact, their phone number will replace their names in any existing chats saved in WhatsApp. Steven John/Business Insider

4. Tap "Delete Contact."

Deleting a contact will not block them from messaging you; if you want to block someone on WhatsApp, it's better to block the contact than delete it. Steven John/Business Insider

5. Tap "Delete Contact" in the pop-up window again to confirm.

Another option is to simply delete the unwanted contact from your phone, which will remove them from WhatsApp as well.

 

  • 'Can you use WhatsApp on a computer?': How to download and use WhatsApp's desktop version

  • How to manually add a contact to WhatsApp using your iPhone

  • How to send GIFs on WhatsApp using your iPhone or Android device

  • How to block someone on the WhatsApp iPhone app in 2 different ways

  • How to use WhatsApp on your iPad through a web browser and connected iPhone

Steven John

Freelance Writer

Steven John is a freelance writer living near New York City by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, four in Boston, and the first 18 near DC. When not writing or spending time with his wife and kids, he can occasionally be found climbing mountains. His writing is spread across the web, and his books can be found at www.stevenjohnbooks.com.

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How to delete a contact from WhatsApp: detailed instructions for phones on Android and iOS

Contents the most basic operations in WhatsApp. But due to the peculiarities of synchronization, not everyone knows how to do it correctly. Today we will consider all the nuances of deleting contacts in WhatsApp so that extra names do not annoy your eyes.

Features of deleting contacts in WhatsApp

WhatsApp and phone contact list is automatically synchronized.

This means that every person in your phone book who uses WhatsApp also appears in the messenger's contact list.

And vice versa - if you started chatting with a person in WhatsApp, his phone number will be recorded in your standard "Contacts".

If you delete a person with whom you have previously corresponded in WhatsApp (no matter how - in the messenger application or in the standard "Contacts"), then instead of his name in the chat there will be only a number. He will not be considered one of your contacts, but the dialogue with him will not disappear until you manually delete him.

You don't have to worry that the interlocutor will receive a notification that he was deleted. In fact, such a message would be a breach of confidentiality - no one except you should have access to data about changes to your contact book. However, the interlocutor will no longer receive updates to your status and avatar. If you have a habit of changing them regularly, then the lack of activity can alert a person, and he will understand that you deleted it.

Instructions for Android

To delete a contact both in WhatsApp and in your phone book, you can use the standard tools (open "Address Book", find the desired name, touch "More" and select "Delete"). But if you have a lot of phone numbers recorded (sometimes even with duplicate names), then such a search can be difficult. In this case, it is easier to delete a contact through a conversation with him in WhatsApp:

  1. Find the conversation with the person you want to delete.
Touch the desired chat in the list

Touch More. Select View Contact.

Contact details will be displayed here

Click "More" and select "Open in address book".

This command will redirect us to the standard contacts app

Tap "More" again and select "Delete".

This will remove the contact from both the general list and WhatsApp

Done! Now in a WhatsApp conversation, instead of the name of the interlocutor, you will see only his number. To delete a dialog, touch and hold it until a menu appears. Select Delete Chat. This contact will no longer be displayed either in the list of recorded numbers or in the chat window.

If you select "Clear Chat", then all messages inside the chat will simply be deleted, but the dialogue itself will remain in the list (although it will be empty).

Delete contacts and conversations on iOS

The procedure for iOS is absolutely the same:

  1. Open the chat you need in WhatsApp.
  2. Tap the contact's name at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap Edit in the top right corner. You will be redirected to the contact card in the standard application.
It will not be possible to delete a contact directly in WhatsApp - the application will redirect us to the standard address book

Scroll the page to the end and you will see the red inscription "Delete contact". Touch it.

The button we need is at the very end

Now this number is not in WhatsApp or in the standard "Contacts". However, the chat with him is still preserved. To delete it, swipe left and tap More, then select Delete Chat (red line).

As in Android, "Clear Chat" will only delete the messages inside the conversation, not the conversation itself, so "Delete Chat" must be selected

There is a situation in which deleting a contact will not help to stop communicating with a particular user. For example, if someone writes down your number and starts a chat first, their phone number and contact will automatically appear on your phone. But in the notebook it will not be displayed and it will not be possible to delete it. If you want a person to no longer be able to write to you, there will be only one way out - to block him.

Deleting a WhatsApp contact is the same as deleting it from your regular phone address book. But sometimes it is much easier to find the right person through the chat window.

  • Author: Lina Sergeeva