Nothing is forever, not even WhatsApp. Although the calculations tell us that social networks like Facebook will have more dead users than alive at any given time, this does not apply to WhatsApp. WhatsApp doesn’t have a way to create a memorial profile for deceased people: the account will eventually be deactivated automatically.
Then we tell you what happens to a dead person’s whatsapp accounthow long it takes to turn off, what happens when it happens, and what you can do to avoid or speed up the process.
This happens to your WhatsApp when you die
The WhatsApp messaging service is closely related to the phone number, so it would be technically impossible to keep the account indefinitely if not used. The normal thing is for a dead person’s phone number to be unsubscribed, so that number will end up being recycled and activated for another person. As soon as that person activates their new phone number on WhatsApp, the old account will disappear.
However, this assumption will rarely be met, because while operators will wait about six months to recycle the number, WhatsApp cleans up accounts that have been inactive for more than 120 days, or four months. An inactive account is an account that has not been connected to WhatsApp because the mobile has not been turned on and/or connected to the Internet during all this time.
After 120 days of inactivity, a deceased person’s WhatsApp account will be automatically deleted
After four months without a connection to WhatsApp, the account of a deceased person is automatically deleted, although the deletion is not as sudden as if you manually delete the account from the app settings. The local backup, on the mobile, will always be there, and can be recovered (with its messages and others), if you re-register the WhatsApp account on this same mobile.
That is, WhatsApp will delete the account after four months of inactivity, but if the SIM card is still activeyou will be able to re-register the same phone number on the same mobile, thus recovering the messages.
When the account is deleted, it leaves the groups and the profile picture disappears
As soon as the account is deleted, he will leave all the groups he was part of, in addition to removing the profile picture and any additional information from the account. Existing chats with other people will remain in those other people’s chats. It is possible to continue to send messages, even if they will only display a check: they will never be delivered. However, anyone who tries to open a new chat will receive the message “Phone number does not exist in WhatsApp”.
How to maintain a WhatsApp account
If you prefer to keep the WhatsApp account of a deceased relative or friend active, the solution is simple. It takes whatsapp log in at least once every four months to prevent automatic deletion.
Not only that, but you have to make sure the SIM card is still active and not unsubscribed for non-payment or inactivity. Although you can use WhatsApp over Wi-Fi once the SIM card is inactive, it is then possible that the number will be recycled and someone else will save it using the account, in which case you will lose the access to the account of the deceased person. .
How to delete an account early
If you prefer to delete a deceased person’s account before the four months of inactivity are up, you have two options. With mobile access, you can delete account manuallyby going to Settings > Account > Delete Account.
This way to delete an account is irreversible, so that it will not be possible to recover the account or the messages, even if you re-register the same phone number in the same mobile. It will also not be possible to restore messages from a Google Drive backup.
If you do not have access to the account, then you will need to contact WhatsApp technical support, so that they carry out the management for you. The traditional way to do this is via email, by writing to [email protected].
However, for the past few weeks, it has also been possible to contact the WhatsApp technical support via chat, which may be another, slightly easier way to do the same thing. You are expected to provide proof and/or documentation that the person is deceased and that you have permission to request early account deletion.
