How to Delete a WhatsApp Contact

When you add a contact on your phone, it also appears in your WhatsApp contacts list. If the person you added has your number saved, they can see your profile picture, last seen, and about section. You can change your privacy settings, but that will affect all your contacts. So, how can you hide your profile picture, about section, and last seen from specific contacts? The only option is to delete the WhatsApp contact. But how do you do that and what are the consequences? Find the answer here. Let’s get started.

Delete WhatsApp Contact

WhatsApp doesn’t use usernames. Contacts in WhatsApp are connected to the numbers saved in your phone’s address book.

To be clear, there is no built-in feature in WhatsApp to delete or unfriend contacts. In order to remove a WhatsApp contact, you must delete the associated number from your phone’s contact list.

Before we discuss the process of removing a contact, it’s important to understand the consequences.

What Happens When You Delete WhatsApp Contact

When you delete a contact from your phone book, you lose the ability to call or message them directly. You will have to manually type in the number in other apps to contact them.

Note: Once you decide to delete a contact from your phone book, here’s how to do it on Android and iPhone.

Android

To delete a contact in WhatsApp, follow these steps:

1. Launch WhatsApp and open the chat of the contact you want to delete.

2. Tap on the contact name at the top.

3. You will be taken to the person’s profile screen. Tap on the three-dot icon and select View in address book.

4. The contact details will open. Hit the three-dot icon and select Delete. Confirm the deletion by tapping Delete.

iPhone

To remove a contact in WhatsApp, follow these steps:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the desired contact.

2. On the chat screen, tap the contact name at the top.

3. Tap Edit on the Contact Info screen.

Step 3: Edit the contact by tapping on it, then select the option to delete. Afterward, restart your phone.

Alternatively, open the address book or contacts app on your Android or iPhone, find the contact, and delete it. The contact will be removed from your WhatsApp. If it is still visible, follow the troubleshooting methods mentioned below.

Deleted Contacts Still Showing up in WhatsApp

If you followed the steps correctly, but the contacts still appear in your WhatsApp, there are three ways to fix it.

1. Refresh WhatsApp Contacts on Android

WhatsApp takes time to automatically refresh the contacts list. You can manually refresh it on Android by opening WhatsApp and tapping the floating compose or new chat button.

By tapping on the three-dot icon and selecting “Refresh” from the menu, you can try to locate the deleted contact in WhatsApp.

2. Delete Chat

Deleting contacts in WhatsApp does not remove their old chat thread. If you can still see the chat, you must delete it manually. On Android, you can do this by tapping and holding the chat thread in the chat list, then tapping the delete icon at the top.

To delete a chat thread on iPhone, swipe left and tap More, then Delete chat.

3. Restart Phone

Lastly, if the above two methods fail, restart your phone.

Does the Other Person Know When You Delete WhatsApp Contact

Deleting a contact on WhatsApp does not result in the other person getting notified. However, if you also delete the chat thread, they may become suspicious if your privacy settings for last seen, about, and status are set to Contacts only, as these details will no longer be visible to them.

Delete Blocked Contacts on WhatsApp

Blocked contacts do not have any special privileges, so there is no separate delete button for them. To remove a blocked contact from WhatsApp, you simply need to delete it from your phone book like any other contact.

Should You Delete Contacts

Deleting a contact is a harsh step as you need to remove the primary contact from your address book. Unless you never want to contact the person again, you can delete them from your phone.

If you only want to remove them from WhatsApp, not from your phone, you can try other ways of avoiding them on WhatsApp.

Alternatives to Deleting Contacts

The easiest way to block someone on WhatsApp is by using the blocking feature. When you block a person, they lose the ability to contact you and vice versa. They also won’t see your last seen, profile picture, and about section. Other apps are not affected by this action.

If you don’t want to block someone but still want to restrict your status from them, you can use the privacy settings of your status or stories to hide it from specific individuals.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

The beauty of WhatsApp lies in its ability to forgo usernames and waiting for others to add you. However, this can also pose a problem, as it means anyone can message you or view your profile picture. It would be beneficial if WhatsApp improved their privacy settings or even introduced a dedicated feature to delete contacts directly within the app. Interested in adding contacts directly through WhatsApp web? Check out this easy guide.