Remove and block contacts

Contacts cannot be deleted. Once a number is in WhatsApp Marketing, it stays. What you do instead depends on why you want the contact gone.

Blocking is separate. It stops a contact from sending messages to you, and it does not stop you from messaging them.

Pick the right fix

flowchart TD
    Q{"Why do you want them gone?"}
    Q -->|"They asked to stop"| O["Opt them out"]
    Q -->|"Their details are wrong"| R["Import a corrected row"]
    Q -->|"You must never message them"| D["Tag them dnd and filter it out"]
    Q -->|"They send you spam"| B["Block their messages, and tag them dnd"]
    Q -->|"The number is not on WhatsApp"| N["Leave it. Sends to it fail."]

Opt out one contact

Use this when a customer asks to stop, by any route. If they reply STOP and STOP is an opt-out keyword, this happens on its own. If they ask on a call, by email or in a chat message that is not a keyword, do it by hand.

1. Open the customer's chat profile.
2. Mark them as opted out.

From then on, broadcasts, marketing messages and chatbot flows skip them. Order updates such as shipping messages still reach them, because those are about something they bought. See Opt-in and opt-out.

Correct a contact

For one contact, select them on the Contacts page and click Edit Contact.

For many, import a CSV with the corrected details. Any number that already exists is updated with the values in the file, and the old values are replaced. Nothing is duplicated. See Add and import contacts.

Keep someone out for good

For anyone you must never message, whatever else is true about them, use a tag.

1. Create a tag called dnd. See Tags and attributes.
2. Add it to every contact who should never be messaged.
3. In every broadcast filter, add Tags not has dnd.

Use this alongside opt-out, not instead of it. Opt-out is the customer's choice, and they can reverse it by replying with an opt-in keyword. dnd is yours, for cases such as a legal request, a complaint, or a number that belongs to a competitor.

Block a contact

Blocking stops a contact's messages from reaching you. Use it for spam: forwarded jokes, good-morning messages, other businesses advertising to you.

1. Click Block all messages.
2. Confirm.

Their messages no longer reach your inbox.

Blocking does not stop your broadcasts. A blocked contact still receives anything you send them. That is rarely what you want for someone spamming you, so tag them dnd as well.

Why deleting is not needed as often as it seems

Most reasons to delete a contact are about not messaging them, and a filter does that. A contact that is opted out or tagged dnd does no harm sitting on the list.

Keeping them has one advantage. If they come back and write to you, their history, tags and opt-out are still there, so you know who they are and what they asked for.