[1][2][3][4] "Without Me" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Halsey's first number-one single as a lead artist, and her second overall, following her feature on the Chainsmokers' song "Closer" in 2016.

The song also reached number one in Greece and the top three of ten other countries, namely Australia, Canada, Hungary, Malaysia, Portugal, Slovakia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

[8] It is a mid-tempo trap-influenced pop, R&B, electro-R&B, and club-pop break-up song,[9][10][11][1] which comprises an atmospheric blend of synths and electropop beats[12] in its production.

[20] On the issue dated January 12, 2019, "Without Me" reached number one, becoming Halsey's first number-one song on the Hot 100 as a lead artist, and her second overall, after her feature on "Closer" with the Chainsmokers in 2016.

[25] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz stated, "there's no cheat code that 'Without Me' used to get to the top of the Hot 100 – it's just a really polished, successful pop single, the type that Halsey has been tossing out more and more frequently.

The singer said in a post to her Instagram, "The story is a reflection of a combination of relationships I've been in, or watched the people I love go through".

[35] On November 8, Halsey performed the song live on the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which aired on December 2.

[36] On November 15, she collaborated with Sebastián Yatra and performed a remixed version of "Without Me" live at the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards.

The performance received criticism on Twitter for "being inappropriate for television," to which Halsey responded saying, "[I'm] very proud to have pissed off the homophobic viewers at home who missed the message.

[44] In October 2018, electronic music artist Nurko and DJ duo Miles Away collaborated to produce their EDM remix of the song.

[45][46] On November 30, 2018, American DJ Illenium released the EDM remix of the song on Capitol Records.

[47][48][49] On January 9, 2019, the singer released a remix of the song featuring American rapper Juice Wrld, whose music inspired the track's "vibe".