Everything here is general guidance, not professional advice. We research carefully and can still be wrong or out of date, so treat it as suggestions to check rather than instructions to follow, and accept that you act on it at your own risk. Full terms.

Disaster Lab
BlogWhatsApp hacked, how to take the account back

WhatsApp hacked, how to take the account back

Re-register your number with the SMS code. That logs every other device out. Do not report the account first, and do not read the code to anyone.

Your WhatsApp is sending messages you did not write, or the app says your number was registered on a new phone. The account is the phone number. You get it back by registering that number again, on a SIM you control.

The full version is WhatsApp account hacked. WhatsApp’s own article is How to recover a compromised account. Instagram and Facebook are a different recovery. If that is what was taken, use Social media account hacked.

Put the SIM in a phone you have

WhatsApp says you cannot recover the account without a SIM for the same number. An email address does not replace it. Their email-login notes say the same thing: no SIM, no code, including by email.

If the phone has no service, or the number was moved to another carrier, this is a SIM problem first. Call the carrier and get the number back onto a SIM you hold. Phone number stolen in a SIM swap is that call. Until the SIM works, WhatsApp buttons will not help.

Re-register, and do not report the account yet

WhatsApp warns that if you report the account you are trying to recover, they might ban it, and you could lose the account or the data. Recover first.

If you see “Your phone number was registered with WhatsApp on a new device,” tap Log back in, then Continue. If asked, enter the full international number and tap Next, then Ok. That screen is documented in their article on the message.

Enter the 6-digit code from the SMS or the call. WhatsApp says you should never share that code, not with friends and not with anyone claiming to be support. Entering it logs every other device out of the account.

They may ask for a two-step verification PIN. If you set it, enter it. If you did not, WhatsApp says someone else may have turned it on. Wait 7 days and try again. Whether you know the PIN or not, the SMS code still logs them out. You might be stuck at the PIN screen until the wait is over. The account is no longer theirs in the meantime.

Changing the WhatsApp password is not this step. WhatsApp says passwords and the other security features protect an account you already have. They do not remove a person who took it.

Tell people, then lock the door

Message family from another app. WhatsApp’s recovery page says to do this, because the other person may already be talking as you in chats and groups. If someone sent money because of that chat, the money problem is Scammed or fraudulent bank charge. WhatsApp cannot reverse a bank transfer.

Then:

  • Open Linked devices. Tap any device you do not recognise and choose Log Out. WhatsApp’s security tips tell you to review this list.
  • Turn on two-step verification and add an email you can open, so a forgotten PIN has a reset path. Do not use a mailbox that is already compromised.
  • If WhatsApp sits in your Accounts Center or Meta Account, look for a profile you did not add. WhatsApp says another account there can be a way back in. Remove WhatsApp from the center until the rest are yours.
  • Ignore emails you did not ask for that offer a PIN reset or a registration code. WhatsApp says not to click them.

Old chats: WhatsApp says a new registration cannot read history stored on your phone, because of end-to-end encryption. If you had a Google or iCloud backup, you can restore from that after the account is yours again. If a browser was linked the whole time, that device could already see recent chats. Logging it out stops the next ones.

WhatsApp also says they cannot tell you who opened the account, or when, or from where. Write down what friends received, in case a bank asks later.

Checks

You can send a message from your phone and see it arrive. Linked devices shows only what you added. A friend is not still getting requests you did not write. The carrier confirms the SIM in your hand is the live one.

If the code never arrives, you are not in a WhatsApp settings problem. You are in a number problem. Go back to the carrier before you pay anyone who says they can restore the chats.

The prepare list, including the carrier PIN that stops the next swap, is on WhatsApp account hacked. Turn on two-step verification before you close the app. That is the setting that makes the next registration ask for something a stranger does not have.

  • WhatsApp account hacked. Someone else is on your WhatsApp, messaging people as you, or your number was registered on a phone you do not have.
  • Phone number stolen in a SIM swap. Your phone suddenly loses service because someone moved your number to another SIM or mobile provider.
  • Social media account hacked. Someone took over your Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok and is posting, messaging your friends, or holding it for ransom.

Questions

Will changing my WhatsApp password kick them out?

No. WhatsApp says a password change does not remove someone who already has the account. Re-registering with the 6-digit SMS code does. Entering that code logs every other device out.

They set a PIN I do not know. Have I lost the account?

WhatsApp says that if you do not know the two-step PIN, you wait 7 days and try again. The other person is still logged out once you enter the SMS code. You may not get into chats until the PIN wait ends.

Can they read my old messages?

WhatsApp says messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored on your device, so someone who re-registers your number on a new phone cannot read past conversations. A linked device, or a backup they can open, is a different story.