About lost or stolen phones and accounts

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You should never share your registration code with others, not even friends or family. If your phone is lost or stolen, or you lose access to your account, follow the steps below to recover your account.
If you suspect someone else is using your WhatsApp account, you should notify family and friends as this person could impersonate you in chats and groups. To help protect your account, WhatsApp will notify you when someone tries to register an account with your phone number.
Note: WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted and messages are stored on your device, so someone accessing your account on another device can't read your past conversations.

Recover a compromised account

  1. Tap Log back in > Continue.
  2. If prompted, enter your full international phone number and tap Next > Ok.
  3. Enter the 6-digit code you receive via SMS or phonecall.
When you re-register your account with the 6-digit code, all devices logged into your WhatsApp account are automatically logged out of your account.
You might also be asked to enter a two-step verification PIN. If you don't know your PIN, the individual using your account might have enabled two-step verification. To sign in without a two-step verification PIN, wait 7 days and try again. Learn more about two-step verification.

Recover account from lost or stolen device

  1. Call your mobile provider as soon as possible and ask them to block your SIM card.
  2. Request a new SIM card with the same phone number.
  3. Activate your new SIM card and insert it into your device.
  4. Open WhatsApp and follow the steps to recover a stolen account.
Once you’ve re-registered your WhatsApp account using the 6-digit code you’ll receive via SMS or phone call, your lost or stolen device is automatically logged out of your account.
Note:
  • A WhatsApp account can only be registered with one phone number at a time.
  • It’s not possible to recover an account without a SIM card with the same phone number as your account.
  • In some cases, WhatsApp can automatically verify your phone number.

Protect your account

When you recover your account, we recommend you turn on these security options to protect your account.
  1. Two-step verification
  2. Chat lock
  3. App lock
You can further protect your account with your device’s security settings, which can include passwords, passkeys, fingerprint unlock, face unlock, or screen lock.
Note:
  • WhatsApp can’t deactivate your account for you because there’s no way to verify that you’re the owner of the phone number associated with that account.
  • WhatsApp can’t help you locate your phone. Remote WhatsApp deactivation from another device is not possible.
  • If you create a backup using Google Account, or iCloud, you might be able to restore your chat history. Learn how to restore messages.
  • WhatsApp can't provide information about who accessed your account or the time and location it was accessed.
  • If you suspect someone is using your account on web or desktop, you can log them out by unlinking that device.

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