limits.json

{"dataset":"limits","title":"WhatsApp limits & rules","description":"Current WhatsApp limits: group and community size, broadcast lists, message length, media and file sizes, forwarding, calls, linked devices and WhatsApp Business app limits.","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"attribution":"WhaTools — https://wha.tools/whatsapp-limits","source":"https://wha.tools/whatsapp-limits","doi":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22103231","verified":"2026-08-05","upstream":"https://faq.whatsapp.com/","note":"Values are English-language labels as published on the page; numbers are single-sourced.","areas":[{"heading":"Groups, communities & broadcasts","rows":[{"id":"group-size","label":"Members in a group","value":"1,024 members","appliesTo":"all","note":"The official group size limit in 2026, admins included — up from 512 in 2022 and 256 before that. It is the same on Android, iPhone and WhatsApp Web."},{"id":"community-groups","label":"Groups in a community","value":"100 groups","appliesTo":"all","note":"Plus the automatic announcement group that reaches every member."},{"id":"community-members","label":"Members in a community","value":"2,000 members","appliesTo":"all","note":"Counted across all of the community’s groups combined."},{"id":"broadcast-list","label":"Recipients in a broadcast list","value":"256 recipients","appliesTo":"all","note":"Only contacts who have your number saved will receive a broadcast."}]},{"heading":"Messages & media","rows":[{"id":"message-length","label":"Characters in one message","value":"65,536 characters","appliesTo":"all","note":"Far more than anyone types by hand — you will hit a paste limit long before normal use."},{"id":"caption-length","label":"Characters in a media caption","value":"1,024 characters","appliesTo":"all","note":"The text attached under a photo or video."},{"id":"media-size","label":"Photo / video / voice sent as media","value":"16 MB","appliesTo":"all","note":"WhatsApp compresses these so they load inline. Send as a document to avoid compression."},{"id":"file-size","label":"Any file sent as a document","value":"2 GB","appliesTo":"all","note":"Up from 100 MB. Documents are not compressed, so quality is preserved."},{"id":"voice-message","label":"Length of a voice message","value":"No published limit","appliesTo":"all","note":"WhatsApp sets no time cap on a voice note in a chat — in practice the 16 MB media limit ends the recording, which is roughly an hour of audio."},{"id":"poll-options","label":"Options in a poll","value":"12 options","appliesTo":"all","note":"Voters can pick one or several depending on how you set the poll up."},{"id":"edit-window","label":"Time you have to edit a sent message","value":"15 minutes","appliesTo":"all","note":"After that the Edit option disappears. Edited messages are marked “Edited” for everyone."},{"id":"delete-everyone","label":"Time you have to delete for everyone","value":"2 days 12 hours","appliesTo":"all","note":"60 hours from sending. Past that you can only delete a message for yourself."},{"id":"pinned-messages","label":"Pinned messages in one chat","value":"3 messages","appliesTo":"all","note":"Each pin lasts 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days unless you unpin it sooner."}]},{"heading":"Status & forwarding","rows":[{"id":"status-duration","label":"How long a Status stays up","value":"24 hours","appliesTo":"all","note":"Photo, video and text updates disappear automatically after a day."},{"id":"status-video","label":"Length of a Status video clip","value":"30 seconds","appliesTo":"all","note":"Longer videos are split into several 30-second segments."},{"id":"status-voice","label":"Length of a voice status","value":"60 seconds","appliesTo":"all","note":"Voice updates posted to Status, raised from the original 30 seconds."},{"id":"forward-chats","label":"Chats you can forward to at once","value":"5 chats","appliesTo":"all","note":"A single forward action can target up to five chats or groups."},{"id":"forward-many-times","label":"Forwarding a “forwarded many times” message","value":"1 chat","appliesTo":"all","note":"Highly-forwarded messages can only be passed on to one chat at a time."}]},{"heading":"Calls","rows":[{"id":"video-call","label":"People in a group video call","value":"32 participants","appliesTo":"all","note":"Includes you. Raised from 8 in 2021 and 4 before that, so older articles quote much smaller numbers."},{"id":"voice-call","label":"People in a group voice call","value":"32 participants","appliesTo":"all","note":"The same cap as video. Very old app builds allowed fewer, so keep the app updated."}]},{"heading":"Channels","rows":[{"id":"channel-followers","label":"Followers of a channel","value":"No limit","appliesTo":"all","note":"The one WhatsApp surface with no audience cap — but you cannot add people, they have to follow you."},{"id":"channel-admins","label":"Admins of a channel","value":"16 admins","appliesTo":"all","note":"Raised from a single admin, so a team can post to one channel."},{"id":"channel-history","label":"How long channel updates are kept","value":"30 days","appliesTo":"all","note":"WhatsApp stores channel history on its servers for 30 days; older updates disappear for new followers."}]},{"heading":"Account & profile","rows":[{"id":"linked-devices","label":"Linked (companion) devices","value":"4 devices","appliesTo":"all","note":"Up to four linked devices in addition to your primary phone."},{"id":"pinned-chats","label":"Chats pinned to the top of the list","value":"3 chats","appliesTo":"all","note":"Separate from pinned messages inside a chat."},{"id":"phone-digits","label":"Digits in a WhatsApp phone number","value":"15 digits","appliesTo":"all","note":"Country code included, no “+” or spaces. WhatsApp uses the international E.164 format, which the ITU caps at 15 digits."},{"id":"about-length","label":"Characters in your “About” text","value":"139 characters","appliesTo":"all","note":"The short status line on your profile, not to be confused with Status updates."},{"id":"group-name","label":"Characters in a group name","value":"100 characters","appliesTo":"all","note":"The group subject shown at the top of the chat."},{"id":"group-description","label":"Characters in a group description","value":"512 characters","appliesTo":"all","note":"The longer text shown in the group’s info screen."}]},{"heading":"WhatsApp Business app","rows":[{"id":"business-labels","label":"Labels for organizing chats","value":"20 labels","appliesTo":"business","note":"Colour-coded labels to sort customers and orders."},{"id":"business-quick-replies","label":"Saved quick replies","value":"50 quick replies","appliesTo":"business","note":"Shortcuts for messages you send often."},{"id":"business-catalog","label":"Products in a catalogue","value":"500 items","appliesTo":"business","note":"One catalogue per account, up to 10 images per product."}]},{"heading":"WhatsApp Business API","rows":[{"id":"api-messaging-limit","label":"Customers you can message in 24 hours","value":"250 → unlimited","appliesTo":"api","note":"Unique users you can start a conversation with in a rolling 24 hours. New accounts start at 250 and scale through 2,000, 10,000 and 100,000 as quality holds up."},{"id":"api-throughput","label":"Messages per second per number","value":"80 per second","appliesTo":"api","note":"Default Cloud API throughput; higher capacity can be requested. Separate from the 24-hour limit above."}]}]}