What happens if I delete the WhatsApp application and then restore it - briefly?
If you delete the WhatsApp application and then restore it, your chat history will remain intact as long as you have backed up your data to either Google Drive (for Android users) or iCloud (for iOS users). However, any messages sent or received during the period when the app was deleted will not be restored.
What happens if I delete the WhatsApp application and then restore it - in detail?
When you delete the WhatsApp application from your device, several changes occur:
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Data Retention: Your chat history, media (photos, videos, documents), and other data are not immediately erased. Instead, they remain on your device's storage but are no longer associated with the WhatsApp app. This means you won’t be able to access them through WhatsApp until you reinstall the application.
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Backup: If you have enabled automatic backups in Google Drive (for Android) or iCloud (for iOS), your chat history and media will still be saved there. This backup can be used to restore your data when you reinstall WhatsApp.
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Account Status: Your WhatsApp account remains active even after you delete the app. You are still registered with your phone number, and your contacts can continue to send messages to you, although you won't receive them until you reinstall the app.
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Notifications: Since the app is deleted, you will not receive any WhatsApp notifications for new messages or calls.
Now, let’s consider what happens when you restore WhatsApp:
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Reinstallation: Download and install WhatsApp from your device's app store.
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Verification: When you open the reinstalled app, it will prompt you to verify your phone number. This step is necessary to link your account with the newly installed application.
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Backup Restoration: If a backup of your chat history exists in Google Drive or iCloud, WhatsApp will automatically detect and ask if you want to restore that backup. If you choose to restore, all your previous messages, media, and settings will be restored to your device.
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Account Activation: Once the verification process is complete, your WhatsApp account becomes active again on your device. You can now send and receive messages, make calls, and access all other features of the app.
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Data Integrity: After restoring from a backup, you should find that all your previous chats and media are intact. However, any messages or data received by your contacts during the time when WhatsApp was uninstalled will not be included in the restored backup.
In summary, deleting and then reinstalling WhatsApp involves temporary loss of access to chat history and media on your device, with the data being safely backed up if you have enabled this feature. Upon restoring the app, your account is reactivated, and you can recover all previous data from the backup, ensuring a seamless continuation of your communication experience.