Have you recently reviewed your WhatsApp contact list? Upon scrolling through it, how many individuals did you come across that you do not recognize or simply do not recall? It is highly likely that the app, being an essential part of our lives, has accumulated a substantial number of contacts over time. Consequently, your contact list may have become a sort of graveyard for forgotten acquaintances. Perhaps it is time to tidy it up a bit?
WhatsApp first arrived in Spain in 2009 and gained popularity in 2012. As such, if you have been using the app since then, you have had a significant amount of time to accumulate contacts of individuals that you may have conversed with in the past, or for a specific reason at a certain point in your life. With this in mind, it may be best to follow some simple steps to clean up your contact list and organize the app a bit more.
on iPhone
To complete the cleaning of your WhatsApp, you will also need to delete the conversations. This process is straightforward, and on an iPhone, you can follow these simple steps:
- After opening WhatsApp, click on Chats in the bottom navigation bar.
- Now tap on “New chat”, an option that is in the upper right corner. Don’t worry, because you’re not going to start a conversation this way.
- Find the contact you want to delete. It is comfortable, because they are arranged in groups alphabetically.
- Click on the name of the contact to delete and then within the chat window tap on “Edit”.
- Now you just have to scroll down to the bottom and choose “Delete Contact” .
To remove a contact from WhatsApp, first, you need to delete the contact from your phone’s address book. Then, open WhatsApp and go to the conversation list. You’ll notice that the name of the deleted contact will only display their phone number. To delete the chat, tap and hold the chat with the contact you want to remove, then tap the user icon. Finally, scroll down to the bottom and select “Empty chat.” Once you have done this, the contact and chat will be removed from your WhatsApp.
on android
Users who have a mobile with the Google system will have it a little easier. What you have to do is the following:
- Open the application and tap on the Chats section.
- Click on “New chat” and then select the contact you want to delete.
- In the upper area, tap on the name of the contact and then enter “More options”.
- After that you just have to click on “View in the contact book”, enter “More options” and then touch “Delete”.
After completing the deletion process, the next step is to update your entire contact list. We recommend doing this after you have finished cleaning your WhatsApp. To update your contacts, open WhatsApp and click on “New chat”, then select “More options”, and finally, click on “Update”. This will ensure that all your existing contacts are updated and any changes you made to your contact list are reflected in the app.
Why delete old contacts?
Cleaning up your WhatsApp contact list not only brings order and organization to the application but also ensures your security. Having numerous contacts from people you don’t know or no longer have a relationship with can pose potential security risks. These contacts may have access to your login information, status updates, or profile photos. Additionally, conversations with certain contacts may have been for specific purposes, such as a Wallapop seller or for a one-time transaction. Keeping such contacts in your list could also cause potential problems.
Reviewing your WhatsApp contact list is not only essential for organizing the app but also for security reasons. Having unknown or irrelevant contacts can pose a potential security risk since they may have access to your personal information, status updates, or profile pictures. Additionally, it is common to communicate with people for specific tasks or purposes, such as a Wallapop seller, and forgetting to delete their contact details may lead to unnecessary complications.
Moreover, it is important to check your contact list regularly as some numbers may have been reused, resulting in unknown individuals in your contact list. Keeping your WhatsApp clean not only helps with organization but also improves your device’s performance, especially if it is an older model. Unnecessary contacts take up valuable storage space and contribute to app instability, so it is best to keep your list up-to-date.
If you wish to go further, you can also delete contacts from your phone’s phonebook, which is a workaround we also recommend. By taking these simple steps, you can maintain a clean and secure WhatsApp contact list.