WhatsApp: delete contacts - how it works

If you no longer want to communicate with certain people via WhatsApp, you can delete the contacts. We'll show you how it's done.

Delete contacts from WhatsApp: Instructions for iOS and Android

Please note: you cannot delete your contacts directly in WhatsApp, but have to take a detour. We have listed the individual steps below.

1. WhatsApp automatically synchronizes your contacts with the smartphone's phone book. So that a contact no longer appears on WhatsApp, you must also delete it from the phone book and not just from WhatsApp.
2. Open the phone book and remove the desired contact. Then restart WhatsApp. The deleted contact should no longer appear in your WhatsApp contact list. However, the news is still there.
3. If you cannot find the contact in your phone book, open the desired chat in WhatsApp. Touch the person’s name at the top, then touch Edit. On Android you will find the option at the top right behind the menu button with the three dots.
4. The respective contact then opens in the address book. There you can either change the name or delete the entire contact.
5. You can then remove the chat in WhatsApp if necessary. To do this, go to the WhatsApp homepage, the overview of all chats. On Android, press and hold the respective chat and then tap the trash can icon at the top. On the iPhone, swipe the chat to the left and then delete it using the "Delete chat" option behind "More".
6. The complete chat history and the phone number of the corresponding contact is thus removed from your smartphone.