{
  "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."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}