How to find your WhatsApp number and change it

With nearly all smartphone users in India using WhatsApp, there’s no question that this messaging app from Facebook creator Meta is one of the most important apps we use. It’s almost a repository and time capsule of our digital lives, as much a part of our online self as any other social media platform, and perhaps more useful owing to its tie-in with payment services and businesses.

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Given the importance of our WhatsApp account, it’s important that we have control over its use. Since the account is tied to our phone numbers, simply changing numbers or phones shouldn’t spell doom for our connected digital lives. Here’s how you find and change the number associated with your WhatsApp ID:

How to find your WhatsApp number

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone

2. Tap on the settings icon in the bottom bar

3. Tap on your profile photo

4. The number registered with your WhatsApp ID should be visible here

How to change your WhatsApp number when changing numbers on the same device:

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone

2. Tap the Settings icon in the bottom bar

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3. Scroll down to ‘Accounts’ and tap on it

4. Tap on ‘Change Number’

5. Tap ‘Next’

6. Enter your old phone number and then the new phone number

7. Tap ‘Next’

8. You can select ‘Notify Contacts’ to let your contacts know that the number associated with your WhatsApp account has changed. You can also tap ‘Custom’ to select a small group of contacts you want to notify. Note that group chats will be notified regardless of what you choose.

9. Tap ‘Done’

10. Register your new phone number by either agreeing to receive a missed call, a voice call, or an SMS.

i. Enter your number and country code

ii. Tap ‘Next’

iii. Enter the 6-digit code that’s delivered in the manner of your choosing

11. Your WhatsApp account is now registered to a new number!

How to change your WhatsApp number when changing numbers and your smartphone

1. To transfer your chats to a new device and number, make sure your chats are backed up

2. Open WhatsApp on your phone

3. Tap the Settings icon in the bottom bar

4. Tap ‘Chats’

5. Tap ‘Chat backup’ to check the status of your backup

6. Tap ‘Backup Now’ if your most recent backup is too old

7. Wait for the backup to complete itself and sync with your Google Drive/iCloud account

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8. Open WhatsApp on the new device

9. Enter your new phone number when prompted

10. Choose an account activation method (Missed call, voice call, or SMS)

11. Enter the 6-digit code received via the method of your choosing

12. Tap ‘Restore’ when prompted during the setup process

13. If you want to set up a fresh WhatsApp account, you can select ‘Skip’ here to skip the restore process

14. You’re now running WhatsApp on a new device and with a new number!

WhatsApp is an integral part of our digital lives, and one that we will want to carry with us as we swap numbers and devices for various reasons over the course of our lives. As you can see, doing so is quite simple, especially if you’ve kept consistent backups of all your chats.