Lost your phone? Here’s how you can still use your WhatsApp account

Popular messaging platform WhatsApp is one of the most used platforms to communicate in India and it only works when the user’s device is connected to the internet. 

What if someone loses his/her device and is unable to access their WhatsApp account, it is advisable to ensure that a stranger should not get access to a WhatsApp account.

Here’s how to do it: 

Step1: The first and foremost thing is to lock the SIM card by calling the network provider. That will instantly stop anyone from accessing your WhatsApp account.

Step 2: As the SIM gets locked, a new SIM card will be needed to activate WhatsApp on your phone with the same number.

Step 3: Next option will be to deactivate the account and for that, the user will have to send an email to the company a phrase "Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account" in the body of the email and include the phone number in full international format (use +91 as prefix for Indian numbers).

Step 4: After deactivation, the contacts will be able to see your profile and send messages, which will be there for up to 30 days. If the account gets reactivated again,  the pending messages can be retrieved on the new phone. If the user does not activate the account within 30 days, it will be completely deleted.

WhatsApp can still be used with the help of WiFi if the user does not contact the company with an account deactivation request.