WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion active users. It allows people to easily communicate with friends, family, coworkers, and more through text messaging, voice calls, video calls, and more. However, sometimes users want to be able to turn WhatsApp off temporarily for various reasons. Luckily, WhatsApp makes it simple to disable notifications, turn off read receipts, limit data usage, and even uninstall the app altogether if desired.
Temporarily Disabling WhatsApp Notifications
If you don’t want to be disturbed by WhatsApp notifications for a while, but don’t want to fully turn off the app, you can disable notifications temporarily in a few easy steps:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the 3 dots menu icon in the top right corner
- Select Settings
- Tap Notifications
- Toggle off Show Notifications to disable them. You can also tap message notifications and disable them individually.
This will stop you receiving sound/pop-up notifications from WhatsApp. The notifications will still be visible in your notification bar and you can check them manually when desired. To turn WhatsApp notifications back on:
- Go back into WhatsApp Settings > Notifications
- Toggle Show Notifications back on
You can also long press a WhatsApp notification and disable notifications just for that conversation.
Turning Off Read Receipts
WhatsApp’s read receipts allow people to see when you have read their messages. If you don’t want others to be able to see when you’ve read their WhatsApp messages, you can disable read receipts:
- Open WhatsApp Settings
- Select Account > Privacy
- Toggle off Read Receipts
This will stop read receipts being sent for your messages. Other users will now see just one check mark instead of two when you read their messages. To turn read receipts back on:
- Go back into WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy
- Toggle Read Receipts back on
Limiting Data Usage
If you have limited data and want to reduce WhatsApp’s data usage, there are a couple of settings you can enable:
- Open WhatsApp Settings > Storage and Data > Media Auto-Download
- Toggle off options like When Using Mobile Data, When Connected on Wi-Fi and When Roaming to stop auto downloading media.
This will prevent WhatsApp automatically downloading media like photos and videos which can use up a lot of data. You can choose to manually download them instead.
You can also enable Low Data Usage mode which limits background data usage:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Storage and Data
- Toggle on Low Data Usage
Disabling Internet Access for WhatsApp
On Android phones, you can completely disable WhatsApp’s access to the internet to stop it running in the background:
- Go to your phone Settings > Apps & Notifications > WhatsApp
- Select Mobile Data & Wi-Fi
- Toggle them off so WhatsApp cannot use mobile data or Wi-Fi.
This will completely disable WhatsApp’s internet access until you turn it back on. WhatsApp will not be able to send, receive or download anything.
Uninstalling WhatsApp
If you want to completely remove WhatsApp from your phone, you can uninstall it:
On Android:
- Open your App Drawer and long-press the WhatsApp icon
- Select Uninstall
- Confirm you want to uninstall WhatsApp
On iPhone:
- Locate WhatsApp on your Home Screen
- Long press the WhatsApp icon until it starts wiggling
- Tap the cross icon on the WhatsApp icon to uninstall it
- Confirm you want to delete WhatsApp
This will completely remove WhatsApp from your phone. Your WhatsApp messages and account will still be there if you reinstall it later.
Does Turning Off WhatsApp Affect Your Account?
Temporarily turning off WhatsApp notifications, read receipts, or uninstalling the app does NOT delete your WhatsApp account or messages. They will all still be there when you re-enable WhatsApp.
The only way to actually delete your WhatsApp account and all your messages is to permanently delete your account within WhatsApp’s Settings. But simply turning WhatsApp off temporarily does not affect your account.
Can You Use WhatsApp on Multiple Devices?
WhatsApp can only be actively used on one device at a time. However, with WhatsApp’s multi-device feature, you can link up to 4 devices to your WhatsApp account and receive messages on them when your main device is offline.
To use WhatsApp on multiple devices:
- On your main device, open WhatsApp Settings > Linked Devices
- Tap ‘Add New Device’ and scan the QR code with your secondary device
- Verify your identity on the second device to link it
You can now use WhatsApp on both devices, however only your main device will receive messages and calls when online. The linked devices will only sync messages when disconnected from your main device.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages?
If you accidentally deleted an important WhatsApp message, there are a couple of ways you may be able to recover it:
- Unsent Message – If the message was deleted shortly after sending, quickly tap and hold on the message bubble and select ‘Unsend’ to undo it.
- Backups – WhatsApp backups can store deleted messages for up to 30 days. You may find the message in a recent backup.
- Third-party tools – Some third-party apps claim to recover deleted WhatsApp messages from your phone’s storage.
However, the longer ago the message was deleted, the less likely you are to be able to recover it. Trying to restore from a backup or use data recovery software are your only options.
Can You Use WhatsApp When Your Phone is Off?
WhatsApp requires an internet connection to send and receive messages. So if your phone is switched off, you cannot actively use the WhatsApp app or exchange messages since there is no internet access.
However, if you have WhatsApp Web linked to your account, you can use WhatsApp through your browser as long as your computer has internet access. But the app itself will not work on your phone if it is powered off.
Some key points about using WhatsApp when your phone is off:
- The WhatsApp app will not work if your phone is switched off
- You cannot send or receive WhatsApp messages if your phone has no internet
- You can use WhatsApp Web if your computer has internet access
- Your messages will sync to your phone when you switch it back on
Can I Get My WhatsApp Messages on a New Phone?
When you get a new phone, you can transfer and restore your WhatsApp messages and data in a few ways:
- Back up your WhatsApp messages to Google Drive or iCloud before switching phones. When you install WhatsApp on your new phone, restore from this backup.
- Move your SIM card from your old phone to your new phone. Verify your number in WhatsApp to restore messages.
- Connect your old phone and new phone. In WhatsApp, select ‘Move Chats to Android’ or ‘Move to iOS’ to transfer data.
As long as you back up your messages or move your SIM card, you can get all your WhatsApp data and messages on a new phone.
Can You Tell if Someone is Using WhatsApp?
There are a few ways to check if someone is actively using WhatsApp at a particular time:
- Profile Photo – If you see their profile photo is dimmed with a gray background, it means they are offline.
- Online Status – Green means online, gray means last seen online a while ago.
- Read Receipts – If they read your messages instantly, they are likely online.
- Typing indicator – The bubbles when they are typing to you indicates they are online.
However, be aware someone can disable read receipts and ‘last seen’ status. They may also appear offline but have WhatsApp Web open. So while these can give an indication, they are not 100% foolproof ways to confirm if someone is using WhatsApp at any given moment.
Can WhatsApp Video Calls Be Traced?
WhatsApp promotes its voice and video calling as end-to-end encrypted, which means the calls cannot be intercepted and traced. However, there are some caveats:
- Video calls made to emergency services can be traced by law enforcement if legally required.
- WhatsApp’s underlying network provider could potentially have records of video calls.
- Video calls made over WhatsApp Web may be more vulnerable than the mobile app.
- Authorities may be able to trace calls if they gain physical access to a user’s device.
So while WhatsApp video calls have encryption, there are specific situations where tracing may be possible with a legal basis. But under normal circumstances, WhatsApp claims video calls cannot be intercepted by third parties.
Can You Tell Who Someone is Calling on WhatsApp?
Within WhatsApp itself, you cannot see who a user is calling or if they are on a call at any given time. However, there are some external signs you can check:
- If their profile status says “On a call”, they are in a WhatsApp call.
- You may visibly see them on a WhatsApp video call.
- Their phone may show the WhatsApp in-call screen.
- They make take the call audibly via speakerphone.
But you have no way to check call logs or see exactly who they are talking to like you can on a traditional phone network. The metadata of who they are calling is protected. You only know if they are in a WhatsApp call, not who with.
Conclusion
Turning off WhatsApp or disabling certain features like read receipts and notifications is easy to do temporarily when desired. Simply toggling these settings off prevents selected WhatsApp activities without affecting your account or messages. Fully uninstalling WhatsApp also pauses all functionality and removes the app, but your account remains intact for when you want to reinstall it. In summary:
- You can disable notifications, read receipts, media auto-download and mobile data/WiFi access.
- Your account remains unchanged if you disable features or uninstall WhatsApp.
- You can link multiple devices to one WhatsApp account.
- Deleted messages may only be recoverable from recent backups.
- WhatsApp requires internet access to use the mobile app or exchange messages.
- You can restore your messages when moving to a new phone.
While WhatsApp gives indications if a user is online or typing, video calls are end-to-end encrypted so cannot be traced like traditional calls. Overall, WhatsApp provides users control over disabling certain features but still retains underlying account security.