How to tell if your girlfriend is cheating on WhatsApp?

Are you secretly trying to find out if your girlfriend is being unfaithful? If so, it’s likely that you’re not just feeling disappointed, but also hurt and confused. If you suspect your girlfriend is using WhatsApp to chat or text someone else, there are a few ways you can uncover the truth or ease your fears. This article provides guidance on how to determine if your girlfriend is cheating on you by checking her activity on WhatsApp.

Use your WhatsApp account to check your girlfriend’s status updates. WhatsApp status is a text, photo, video, or GIF that disappears after 24 hours. You can view her status by tapping the 'Status' tab at the bottom of WhatsApp and selecting her name. Is she sharing quotes, memes, lyrics, or other content that suggests she’s going through something you’re unaware of? If so, you can ask her about it if it seems suspicious.

Ask for permission before checking your girlfriend's phone. The best way to find evidence is to ask for permission first before checking your girlfriend's WhatsApp messages. If she’s using WhatsApp to cheat and hasn’t deleted those conversations, you may uncover proof by reading the messages.

• If she refuses to let you see the messages, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s cheating – she might just want privacy and independence, which is a perfectly normal need.
• Having friends outside your romantic relationship is natural and healthy. If she’s chatting with someone you don’t know and says they’re just a friend, that could very well be the truth.
• Avoid reading her messages without permission. If she’s not cheating and you cross that boundary, it could seriously damage your relationship.

If you can't use your girlfriend's phone for long, try reading messages on the web. Even if you only get a few minutes with her phone, you can use this opportunity to log into her WhatsApp account on your computer and read her messages without needing her phone. Your girlfriend will get a notification every time you log into her account on the web, so be prepared to take responsibility for sneaking around. Here’s how you do it:

• Go to https://web.whatsapp.com using your computer’s web browser.
• Open WhatsApp on her phone.
• Tap on the menu icon (on Android) and select Settings.
• Tap on Linked Devices (Devices Linked).
• When the camera screen appears, position the camera lens to scan the QR code on your browser to log into her account.

Contacts in her Android or iPhone address book that also use WhatsApp will appear in WhatsApp's contact list. However, she may have changed the contact’s name on WhatsApp to something different from the one in her phone’s address book. If you notice any suspicious contacts in WhatsApp with symbols or icons instead of names, tap on the conversation with that person, tap the name at the top of the conversation, and note down their phone number. Cross-check that number with the one in her phone's address book to reveal their real identity.

Pay attention to gaps in the conversation. If your girlfriend has something to hide, she may delete messages in the chat. If you notice a break in the message chain, it's likely she (or the person she’s chatting with) has deleted some of the messages.

Look out for self-destructing messages. If there’s something she wants to keep hidden, she (or the person she’s texting) might send self-destructing messages – these messages automatically disappear after a period of time without leaving any trace. To check if the self-destruct feature is active in a conversation, follow these steps:

• Tap to open the conversation.
• Tap the name of the person at the top of the conversation.
• Scroll down and look for "Disappearing Messages." If it says "Off," this means the self-destruct feature is not activated.
• If you see 24 hours or 7 days, this means any messages exchanged between you two will automatically delete after this time period.

Look for a backup. If you suspect she deleted messages, you can try recovering them. This will only work if she deleted the messages after a backup was made. To check if she has backed up her messages, follow these steps:

• Tap Settings at the bottom of WhatsApp (you might need to tap the menu icon first).
• Tap Chats.
• Tap Chat Backup.
• If you see a backup here, you can restore deleted messages, as long as they were deleted after the backup date.

Delete WhatsApp from your girlfriend’s phone. If there’s a backup, you will need to delete and reinstall WhatsApp to restore the messages. However, even if she doesn’t know you’ve secretly used her phone, she will still notice when WhatsApp is reinstalled!

Reinstall WhatsApp. You can do this by downloading the app from the App Store (on iPhone/iPad) or the Play Store (on Android).

Open WhatsApp and restore the backup. When you open WhatsApp, you will be prompted to enter your girlfriend’s phone number for verification. Follow the on-screen instructions to confirm the verification code, and when asked about restoring the backup, select the backup option.

Review her messages. After restoring messages from the previous backup, any messages deleted after she performed the backup will appear.

If she received the picture on WhatsApp, it’s likely still on her phone. The WhatsApp app automatically saves photos and videos to the phone by default, and she may not have disabled this feature. You can check the following ways:

• If she’s using an iPhone, simply open the Photos app, tap on Albums, and select WhatsApp.
• For Android, open the File Manager app (it could be My Files or Files) and navigate to Internal Storage/WhatsApp/Media/folder. If her Android has an SD card, choose SD Card or External SD Card instead of “Internal Storage”.
• Depending on the Android version, photos and videos may be found in Internal Storage/Android/Media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media.

If your girlfriend never lets go of her phone, she might be hiding something. While it's common for people to cling to their phones these days (even taking them into the bathroom), most people will set their phones down at some point. If she used to leave her phone on the table, counter, or nightstand, but now keeps it in her pocket or under the pillow, it may be because she’s afraid you’ll check her messages or calls.

• If she keeps secret who she’s talking to or what she’s doing, you can ask. If she explains comfortably, it’s a good sign. If she seems hesitant or you sense she’s lying, she may be deceiving you.
• However, she might just want to keep private conversations with friends or family. If she thinks you’re the type to snoop, that could be motivating her to hide these conversations.

She deliberately hides her phone screen. When your girlfriend uses her phone in front of you, does she turn her body to prevent you from seeing what’s on the screen? Does she always face the phone screen down so you can't see notifications? She might simply be doing something personal, like searching for something private online or chatting with a friend. Or, it could mean she’s hiding something.

• If she’s texting or chatting more on her phone while you’re spending time together, you might gently express that you’d appreciate her focusing more on your time together. Perhaps she’s unaware that her actions seem suspicious.

Suddenly, she changes her phone password. Setting a password on her phone doesn’t necessarily mean she’s hiding something—she might simply want to improve the security of her phone through setting a password. However, if she recently changed a password that she once shared with you and refuses to tell you the new one, she may be trying to hide certain conversations.

Even if your girlfriend is not cheating, this might be a time for you to seek a relationship counselor. If trust is lacking, it can be difficult for the relationship to progress. You may consider individual or couples counseling to address feelings of insecurity and trust issues if you wish to maintain the relationship.

• Suspecting your girlfriend of cheating is a clear indication that trust has been broken. If you feel she may be unfaithful, this is the right moment to reevaluate the relationship.
• Avoid installing tracking apps on your girlfriend’s phone—this is not only unethical but also illegal.
• If your girlfriend has cheated, refrain from attacking or seeking revenge. Instead, focus on healing emotionally and take time for yourself.