| { |
| "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", |
| "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." |
| } |
| ] |
| } |
| ] |
| } |
|
|
