As you may or may not know, Wattpad is a social storytelling platform. Users can submit short stories, novels, poetry, or other genres to the website for constructive criticism and compliments. In addition, readers can enjoy amateur content, which is organized according to the genre.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- How to Delete Your Own Wattpad Account
- How to Delete a Deceased Loved One’s Wattpad Account
- Frequently Asked Questions: Deleting a Wattpad Account
Whether you are a writer or a reader, you must have a Wattpad account to participate in the experience. Although Wattpad can be used for free, the company also has two subscription options.
Wattpad Premium is currently $4.99 per month, and users can enjoy an ad-free experience when paying this subscription fee. Users also get unlimited offline stories, bonus coins on purchases, and theme colors.
For $7.49 per month, Wattpad Premium Plus users can unlock two paid stories per month in addition to all the benefits one would receive with Wattpad Premium.
Whether you chose the free subscription or purchased an upgrade, you might be ready to remove Wattpad from your online life. Maybe you no longer enjoy the content, or perhaps you found your entertainment dollars were better spent elsewhere.
Regardless of your reason for getting rid of Wattpad, we would like to help. This article will assist you with saying “goodbye” to Wattpad.
How to Delete Your Own Wattpad Account
While we certainly don’t want to state the obvious, some readers need to hear these words of wisdom: Removing an app on your phone does not close your account. This means that if you are a writer and submitted stories to Wattpad, deleting the app on your phone will not remove your stories from the platform.
With that said, Wattpad’s customer service department is clear about what happens when you close a Wattpad account. Closing may result in losing access to your reading lists, private and public messages, comments, username, and personal written works.
If you are sure you are ready to continue, here’s how to close your Wattpad account.
Step 1: Consider what closing your Wattpad account means.
When you close your Wattpad account, you are giving up your username. Unfortunately, this means that someone else can create an account with the same username, and you will no longer be able to restore your original account. (This may not be entirely true. Wattpad also has instructions on restoring an account, as long as it is done within six months from when you closed it.)
Step 2: Log in to your Wattpad account using a computer.
You can’t close your Wattpad account through the app or mobile browser.
Do you have a difficult time remembering your passwords? Then, consider using a password manager to simplify your life!
Step 3: Select your username.
Your username can be selected from the top right-hand corner.
Step 4: Select “Settings.”
Once there, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Step 5: Click on “Close Account.”
This option can be found on the right-hand side of the screen.
Step 6: Submit the mandatory information.
Wattpad needs to make sure that the person wishing to close the account is the user.
Step 7: Confirm your wishes.
Click on the box that says, “Yes, I’m sure. Please close my account.”
Step 8: Enter your password.
Again, this is another safeguard that Wattpad uses to make sure no one is deleting your account for nefarious reasons.
Step 9: Select “Close Account.”
You’re done! Except you might want to . . .
Step 10: Check that your account has been closed.
Do this by typing https://www.wattpad.com/user/yourusername, replacing “yourusername” with the username of the account that you just closed.
If your account is closed, a page should pop up that says “user not found.” If it appears, complete the process again and reach out to the Wattpad support team.
Please note that if you try to log in to your account again to see if your account is closed, it may self-restore.
How to Delete a Deceased Loved One’s Wattpad Account
There’s a lot to do when a loved one dies. Besides planning a funeral and ordering copies of the death certificate, you also need to close your loved one’s accounts.
Closing your loved one’s Wattpad account is certainly not at the top of your list of things to do. In fact, your loved one’s subscriptions may automatically go away when you cancel your loved one’s credit card. However, there might be another reason you wish to delete your loved one’s Wattpad account permanently.
Here’s how to do it.
Option 1: Repeat the proceeding steps.
If you know your loved one’s Wattpad login, password, and user name, you can delete the account using the steps in the previous section of this article. However, unless your deceased loved one left behind an up-to-date notebook with password information, you won’t have all three vital pieces of information.
If that’s the case, here’s another option.
Option 2: Email Wattpad.
Anyone who wishes to permanently delete their Wattpad account can email privacy@wattpad.com with the subject line “Permanent Account Deletion.”
Please note that these instructions were meant to be used by current users of the platform. In fact, the instructions specify that you must email the request from the email address linked to your Wattpad account. They also require you to confirm the username associated with your account.
However, there’s nothing in the Terms and Services that specifies how to delete the account of a deceased family member. So this is your best bet for making that happen.
Frequently Asked Questions: Deleting a Wattpad Account
We’re sure you have additional questions about deleting your loved one’s Wattpad account. So here are some common questions about the process (and their answers!).
Can you delete a Wattpad account without a password?
Wattpad says you cannot delete your account without a password. However, Wattpad gives tips on what to do if you can’t remember your password.
If you can’t remember your password, reset the password using your email address associated with the account.
If you are currently logged in to your account, you can find the email you used in the “Account Settings.” Getting access to that email account, if it is one that you don’t often use, is up to you.
If you don’t have access to that email address, deleting your account gets tricky.
If you can’t access your account because you mistyped your email address or used a fake one, Wattpad cannot release the account to you.
How do you delete a Wattpad account on an iPhone?
You can’t delete your Wattpad account from your app or mobile browser. It has to be done from a computer.
What happens when you delete a Wattpad account?
When you close your Wattpad account, it will be deactivated and then deleted.
When your account is deactivated, all of your comments and message board posts will remain, but they will show that they come from an anonymous source. This process allows you to restore your account if you do it within six months after deactivation.
After six months, Wattpad permanently deletes your account from its systems, even if your anonymous comments continue to be available.
Digital Afterlives Are Complicated
Clearing up the accounts of a loved one used to be a straightforward process, but that’s not the case anymore. While executors still complete their assigned duties, the digital afterlife of the deceased is often a gray area left behind for families to sort. After all, does a person’s privacy continue after their death? Should loved ones have access to their deceased family member’s Wattpad account?
While these questions are beyond the scope of this article, we at Cake try to provide you with the best information available on how to clear up your loved one’s digital accounts. Of course, it’s up to you whether or not you want to tackle this job or simply allow the accounts to remain dormant until the company finally removes them.
Source:
- “Closing Your Wattpad Account.” Wattpad. support.wattpad.com