WhatsApp has been the de facto messaging app in countries around the world for years. But recently, some news about the company’s extremely shady privacy policy changes has prompted many to consider switching to another service. After all, there are tons of choices out there, most of them not owned by Facebook.
You can easily ditch WhatsApp and save your old messages if you decide you’ve had enough.
Before you delete your account, you’ll want to export your chats. Luckily, that’s simple. Just tap on the name of the thread you want to save, located at the top, then scroll down to Export Chat. You can choose whether to save all of the photos and videos included in the thread, too.
Now it’s time to request all of your account data. Tap on Settings in the bottom right corner of the app. Then tap Account and Request Account Info. WhatsApp says it takes about three days to receive your report, but the company alerts you when it’s ready.
Take a deep breath and prepare to delete your account before you delete the app from your phone. Under Settings and Account, tap Delete My Account. Deleting your account will erase your messages, remove you from group chats, and delete your backup. It really is that simple.
As you can see, leaving WhatsApp is actually pretty easy. The hard part will be convincing your friends, family, and colleagues to ditch Facebook’s messaging app, too. Good luck!
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