If you change your number in WhatsApp, will people see the new number - briefly?
When you change your phone number on WhatsApp, your contacts will not automatically see your new number. To ensure they can reach you with the updated information, you need to manually inform them or update your profile in their device's address book.
If you change your number in WhatsApp, will people see the new number - in detail?
When you change your phone number on WhatsApp, whether or not your contacts can see your new number depends on several factors. Firstly, if you simply update your phone number within the app settings without informing your contacts, they will still see your old number. However, any messages sent from your new number will be delivered to their devices as if they were coming from your old number. This is because WhatsApp uses your phone number as a unique identifier, and it doesn't change this identifier even when you update your number within the app.
Secondly, if you decide to delete your account and create a new one with the new number, your contacts will indeed see your new number. In this scenario, you effectively start from scratch, and all your contacts will need to add your new phone number to their contact lists manually. This approach can be disruptive as it requires informing everyone in your network about the change.
Thirdly, if you use WhatsApp Business or have a verified business account, changing your number involves additional steps. For WhatsApp Business users, changing the number means losing all chat history and media associated with the old number. Your contacts will need to re-add your new number to continue communicating with you.
In summary, while updating your phone number within WhatsApp does not change how it appears to your contacts, they can still communicate with you seamlessly. However, if you delete your account and create a new one or use WhatsApp Business, your contacts will see the new number, but at the cost of some disruption in communication continuity.