> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/messaging/groups.md).

# Groups

The Groups API allows a business to create WhatsApp groups and send messages to them programmatically. It supports messaging and collaboration use cases that go beyond one-to-one messaging.

{% hint style="warning" %}
To qualify for group features, the business must have an [**Official Business Account**](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/official-business-accounts).
{% endhint %}

### How Groups Work

Groups are invite-only. WhatsApp users decide whether to join a group, so a business cannot add participants directly.

When a group is created with a subject and an optional description, a `group_lifecycle_update` webhook confirms the creation and includes an `invite_link` field. The business shares this link with potential participants using a group invite link template message. The invite link shows information about the group, so each user can make an informed decision before joining.

When a participant joins, a `group_participants_update` webhook is triggered. If join requests are enabled for the group (`join_approval_mode`), participants must be approved before they join.

Once a participant has joined, the business can send messages to the group. Sent, delivered and read status webhooks are triggered in the same way as for one-to-one messages, and replies from participants are also delivered as webhooks.

### Limits

| Limit                                    | Value                                                       |
| ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Maximum participants per group           | 8                                                           |
| Maximum groups per business phone number | 10,000                                                      |
| Maximum Cloud API businesses per group   | 1                                                           |
| Supported message types                  | Text, media, text-based templates and media-based templates |

### Availability

Groups are not available for the following phone numbers:

* **Coexistence** – Phone numbers that are also in use on the WhatsApp Business app.
* **Multi-solution Conversations** – Phone numbers onboarded to Multi-solution Conversations.

### Unsupported Features

The following message types and actions are not supported in groups:

| Category      | Not Supported                                                                                             |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Message types | Calling, disappearing messages, view-once, authentication \[TBC], commerce messages, interactive messages |
| Actions       | Admin hide group participant list, edit message, delete message                                           |

### Template Analytics

Performance metrics are not available for message templates used in groups. Meta recommends creating templates specifically for groups rather than reusing templates created for one-to-one messaging.

### Pricing

The Groups API uses per-message pricing, the same as messages sent one-to-one using the Cloud API. For details, see Meta's [**Groups API pricing**](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/groups/pricing).

### Related Pages

The following pages cover the tasks and endpoints for working with groups:

* [**Group Management**](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/messaging/groups/group-management) – Creating and deleting groups, group invite link templates, join requests, invite links and removing participants.
* [**Group Messaging**](https://docs.360dialog.com/docs/waba-messaging/group-messaging/messaging-api) – Sending and receiving group messages.


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