How to add and delete a WhatsApp contact

WhatsApp is an easy way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it still relies on the same contacts list that your phone uses for old-school calls and SMS messaging. Fortunately, it’s easy to add or delete a WhatsApp contact from directly within the app, and it just takes a few moments. Here’s how to do it!

Read also: 21 essential WhatsApp tricks and tips you should know

Just don’t forget that WhatsApp is wrapped up in a controversial privacy policy at the moment, so some of your contacts may have moved onto other messaging apps.

How to add a contact to WhatsApp

By default, WhatsApp will sync your contacts with the contacts app on your phone. To add a contact, all you need to do is add the contact to whatever contacts app you use on your phone. If you’re not sure how to do that, you can pull up the prompt to add a contact directly within WhatsApp.

How to add a contact to WhatsApp 

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
2. Tap the chat bubble in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap New Contact, and your contacts app will open.
4. Enter the contact’s details and save the contact.

That’s all there is to it! If one of your contacts isn’t appearing in WhatsApp, you can refresh the list by tapping the chat bubble, then the three dots at the top right, then Refresh. All contacts should now appear within the app.

If that contact still isn’t appearing on the list, it’s possible that they don’t have WhatsApp installed on their phone. You can send them an invite from the same menu as above, under Invite a friend.

How to delete a WhatsApp contact

Deleting a WhatsApp contact follows the same rules set out above. To delete them, you need to remove them from your contacts list. You can do this from WhatsApp, as well.

How to delete a WhatsApp contact

1. Open a chat with the contact you want to remove in WhatsApp.
2. Tap the three dots in the top right and tap View contact.
3. Tap the three dots in the top right again, then tap View in address book.
4. Delete the contact from your contacts app.

Note that this will only remove the contact from your overall list. If you want to block any future messages, you can also clear the chat, report that user, or block them from the same menu.