WhatsApp after a death: chats, groups and the phone number

Start with the phone number

A WhatsApp account lives on a phone number. That is the fact that shapes everything else. If the number stays active, the account stays reachable. If the number is cancelled and later given to someone else, that new person can register WhatsApp on it and start a fresh account. They will not see the old chats, because those sit on the old device, but the number itself moves on.

So before you cancel a mobile contract, decide what you want to happen to WhatsApp. Keeping the number alive for a while gives you room to download what you need. Talk to the phone company about your options and check their current help page, since their rules change.

The three things families usually want

Most families want one of three outcomes, and it helps to pick one early so everyone is working toward the same thing.

• Keep it as it is for a short period, so you can read messages and gather information.
• Download a copy of the chats that matter, then decide what to do with the account.
• Close the account so it stops showing up and stops receiving messages.

WhatsApp has a help page that explains what it can do for a deceased person's account and what it needs from you. Check WhatsApp's current help page for the exact steps, because the forms and the requirements do change.

Downloading chats before anything else

If the phone is unlocked and in your hands, you can export a chat from inside the app. Open the chat, find the export option in the chat menu, and send the file to yourself or save it somewhere safe. Do this for the conversations that hold practical information: addresses, account details, family history, anything you might need later.

Exporting works chat by chat, so decide which ones matter rather than trying to save everything. Group chats can be exported the same way, though the media inside them can be large. If the phone is locked, read locked phone after death before you try anything else.

Groups and the account staying visible

A WhatsApp account that is still registered keeps appearing in group member lists. People in those groups may keep messaging it, not knowing what has happened. Some families find it kinder to post one short message in the groups that matter, from the person's phone if they can, so people know. Others prefer to close the account so it stops appearing at all.

There is no single right answer. Think about who is in those groups and how they would want to hear the news. If the account holder was in work groups or community groups with many members, a brief note from a family member can save a lot of awkward messages later.

What the account holder can set up now

WhatsApp does not offer a built in way to name someone who can take over the account. What you can do is make the practical side simple for the people you trust.

1. Write down which phone number the account uses, and which phone it is on.
2. Tell one or two people where the phone is kept and how to get into it, or record the passcode somewhere they can reach. See codes go to their phone for how to plan that without handing over everything.
3. Leave a short note saying what you would like done with the account: kept for a while, downloaded, or closed.
4. Mention any group chats that matter and who should be told.

Keep that note with the rest of your account information. If you are building that list, covers explains how SuddenGone holds it in your envelope until it is needed.

If the person can no longer manage the account

The same choices apply when someone is alive but unable to use their phone, for example after a stroke or during a long hospital stay. The difference is consent. If they can still express a wish, even by nodding or writing a note, follow it. If a paper like a power of attorney gives someone authority over their affairs, check what it actually covers, since it may not mention apps at all. See which paper does what.

For a person who is still alive, closing their account can cut them off from friends and family at a time when those chats matter. Keeping the account open and reading messages aloud to them is often the kinder choice.

What to gather before you contact WhatsApp

WhatsApp will usually ask for proof of death and proof that you are entitled to act, so have documents ready before you start. A death certificate is normally part of it. Death certificates: how many helps you plan copies. You may also need something showing your relationship to the person or your role in their affairs.

Take clear photos or scans of each document. Keep the originals. Write down the phone number on the account and the date you last used the phone, since those details come up in the forms.

The rest of their digital life

WhatsApp is one account among many, and the same pattern repeats across them: find the help page, gather the documents, choose keep, download or close. Our guide to Google account after death follows the same shape, and first 48 hours sets out what to do in the earliest days. Work through them one at a time. You do not have to finish today.