The operations you need for delete the WhatsApp account which I will tell you about in the next lines are very simple to do. Before going into the details of this tutorial, however, I must necessarily talk to you about how to export conversations.
This is a preliminary operation that can be useful in order not to lose your chats, in case of second thoughts. In fact, you must know that by deleting the WhatsApp account, the conversations will be deleted from the device in use and the backups of the same made on Google Drive or iCloud will also be deleted.
Exporting conversations
To export conversations to Android, start the app first WhatsApp on your device, by pressing on its icon that you find on the home screen or in the drawer (i.e. the screen with the list of all installed apps).
Then locate the conversation to export via the section Chat, press on it and tap on the symbol (...), located at the top right. Now, press on the voice Other and then Export Chat, in order to select a sending method (for example via email).
Your iOS, instead, once you have identified the conversation of your interest through the section Chat (the symbol of a comic located in the menu bar at the bottom), tap on it, then press on user's name you see above and, finally, first presses on the itemExport chats.
Then choose whether to press on the words Attach Media o Without media file, depending on your preferences for saving media files.
If you have any doubts regarding the export of chats, read my tutorial in which I tell you in detail about how to save WhatsApp messages.
Android
If you have saved all the conversations you cared about most and possibly the related attachments, you are ready to start deleting the WhatsApp account, a procedure which I will talk about in detail in the next lines.
Su Android, the first step is to press the button (...) located in the upper right corner so as to then tap on the item Settings located in the context menu.
At this point, I premi sulla voce Account in the menu that opens, presses on Delete account and enter your mobile number in the text field on the screen. To confirm the operation, finally tap the button Delete account.
Deleting the WhatsApp account will also result in deletion from all groups you have subscribed to, deletion of the chat from your phone and also of its backup on Google Drive.
iOS
If you intend to delete your WhatsApp account by acting from iPhone, tap on the item Settings (is the symbol of a gear which is located at the bottom right of the main screen), then tap on the items Accounts> Delete account.
Now, type your mobile number in the text field you see at the bottom of the screen and tap the button Delete account, to confirm the deletion.
As in the case of Android, even on iOS the deletion of the WhatsApp account will also result in the deletion of the chat on your device and its iCloud backup.
Change number on WhatsApp
If you have changed your phone number and want to transfer your account to it WhatsApp, you must carry out the officially prescribed number change procedure of the service.
This step automatically saves group memberships and application settings. The chats, on the other hand, must be restored manually, and you must therefore have previously backed up them, a procedure that I will show you in the next chapter. However, keep in mind that it is not possible to migrate messages from Android to iOS, or vice versa (if not using third-party solutions, which are not always 100% reliable).
Backup of conversations
To backup WhatsApp conversations on Android, tap on the symbol (...) located in the upper right corner, then tap on the item Settings in the context menu.
Now tap on the wording Chat, Then Backup of chats and verify that, in correspondence with the item Backup to Google Drive a rule is selected for starting the backup. Otherwise, tap on the item Daily, Weekly o Monthly to set a backup frequency. If, on the other hand, you want a manual backup to be made, put the check mark on the wording Only when I tap "Back Up" and then presses the button Back up.
Also, choose whether to check the item Include videos (find it a little further below), in order to include multimedia elements in the same. If necessary, allow WhatsApp to access your Google Drive.
Su Android chats are backed up on Google Drive, the Google cloud service with free storage space with 15GB of space, possibly expandable for a fee with prices starting from 1,99 / month.
To make a backup of WhatsApp conversations on iPhoneinstead, launch the instant messaging app and hit the voice first Settings which features a symbol gear and is located in the upper right corner.
Now, tap on the menu items Chat> Chat backup to adjust the settings for automatic backup (Daily, Monthly, Weekly). If you want to do a manual backup instead (and also include videos, selecting the option using the appropriate lever), presses the button Back up now.
The backup of chats on iOS is saved to iCloud, Apple's cloud storage service that has a free storage space of 5GB and is possibly expandable for a fee: prices starting at € 0,99 / month.
If something is not clear to you or you want to know more about the backup procedures for WhatsApp chats, read my tutorial dedicated to this topic.
Android
If you are using a smartphone Android, after saving your conversations with a backup, launch the WhatsApp on your old number, access the panel of Settings, pressing on the symbol (...) and tap on the item first Account and then on that Change number.
At this point, press the button NEXT which is at the top right, enter yours old number (i.e. the phone number you are currently using) and yours new number (the number you intend to transfer the account to WhatsApp) in the appropriate text fields, making sure that the international code is indicated correctly and presses on NEXT but I will complete the operation.
Now, download the app WhatsApp via the Play Store and launch it; then you just have to follow the initial procedure for activating the number. When prompted, tap the button Restore, in order to agree to restore the backup chats that the application will have detected automatically.
iOS
If you own a iPhone and you intend to change your number and then transfer your account WhatsApp, after saving the conversations of your interest via backup, start the app WhatsApp to begin the procedure for this step.
Once the main screen of the messaging app is displayed, tap the button Settings (the symbol of a gear), then on the Account item and, finally, on the one called Change number.
Now, click on NEXT and enter yours in the text fields you see on the screen old number (i.e. the number on which you are using the application of WhatsApp right now) and yours new number (i.e. the number to which you intend to transfer your account WhatsApp).
Before pressing the button NEXT, to complete the transfer procedure, make sure you have correctly indicated the international prefix of the number.
Once this has been done, all you have to do is start the application WhatsApp on the new device (if you have not yet installed it, download it from the iOS App Store) and carry out the initial procedure for activating the phone number. Next, hit the button Ripristina chat timeline, in order to restore the backup which is automatically recognized.
If you have any doubts regarding the backup restore procedure or if something is not clear to you, refer to my specific tutorial on this topic.
