How to Create a WhatsApp Group: Full 2026 Guide

Introduction: why WhatsApp groups still matter

WhatsApp groups are the simplest way to get a set of people talking in one place. Family chats, sports teams, work projects, neighbourhood updates, and small customer communities all run on them. Creating one takes under a minute, and once it exists it works the same on every phone.

For online stores, a group can be a genuinely useful tool for a tight circle of fans, but it has clear limits. This guide covers the full picture: how to create a group on iPhone, Android and WhatsApp Web, how to add and remove members, how admin controls and privacy settings work, the 1,024-member cap, invite links and QR codes, and where groups stop making sense for a growing business.

By the end you will know exactly how to set up a group properly, and when a broadcast list or the WhatsApp Business API is the smarter choice.

How to create a WhatsApp group on iPhone

Creating a group on iOS takes four steps.

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats tab.
2. Tap the pencil/compose icon in the top-right corner, then choose New Group.
3. Select the contacts you want to add. You can add members now or create the group with just yourself and add people later. Tap Next.
4. Type a group name (up to 100 characters) and, optionally, tap the camera icon to set a group icon. Tap Create.

The group is live immediately. Everyone you selected receives a system message telling them they were added, and the chat appears in their Chats list.

How to create a WhatsApp group on Android

The Android flow is nearly identical, with one small difference in where the button sits.

1. Open WhatsApp and stay on the Chats tab.
2. Tap the green chat icon in the bottom-right corner, then tap New group.
3. Choose contacts from your list, then tap the green arrow to continue.
4. Add a group subject (the name), an optional icon, and a group description if you want one. Tap the green check mark to finish.

You can also set a disappearing messages timer at creation time on recent versions, so messages auto-delete after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. This is handy for groups where you do not want a permanent history.

How to create a WhatsApp group on WhatsApp Web

If you prefer a keyboard, WhatsApp Web and the desktop app handle group creation just as well.

1. Open web.whatsapp.com and link it to your phone, or open the desktop app.
2. Click the New chat icon (top-left), then click New group.
3. Search and select contacts, then click the arrow to proceed.
4. Enter a group name and optional icon, then click the green check to create.

The desktop flow is the same one covered in our WhatsApp Web and Desktop guide. Note that your phone must stay connected to the internet for WhatsApp Web to sync, even though the chat itself runs in the browser.

How to add and remove members

Once a group exists, managing who is in it is an admin task.

To add members:

1. Open the group and tap the group name at the top to open Group info.
2. Tap Add members (or Add participants).
3. Pick contacts and confirm.

If a contact has set their privacy so that only their own contacts can add them to groups, or if they are not in your address book, you will not be able to add them directly. WhatsApp will instead offer to send them an invitation to join via a private message, which they can accept or ignore.

To remove a member:

1. Open Group info and tap the member's name.
2. Choose Remove from group.

Removed members see a system message and lose access to all future messages, though they keep the history from while they were in the group.

Admin controls and group settings

The group creator is the first admin and can promote others. Open Group info, tap a member, and choose Make group admin. Tap an admin and choose Dismiss as admin to demote them.

Inside Group info > Group settings, admins can lock down the group:

• Edit group settings: restrict who can change the name, icon and description to admins only.
• Send messages: switch the group to admins only, turning it into an announcement-style channel where members can read but not post.
• Add members: decide whether all members or only admins can add new people.
• Approve new members: require admin approval before anyone who uses the invite link can actually join.

These controls are what make a group usable for a brand. Setting Send messages to admins only, for example, gives you a clean broadcast feel without the chaos of 1,000 people replying at once.

The 1,024-member limit and group invite links

A single WhatsApp group holds up to 1,024 members, admins included. WhatsApp raised this from 256 in 2022. Once a group is full, no one else can join until someone leaves or is removed.

To grow a group without manually adding everyone, use an invite link:

1. Open Group info and tap Invite to group via link.
2. Tap Send link to share it through any app, Copy link, or Share QR code.
3. Anyone who opens the link or scans the QR joins instantly (unless you enabled member approval).

You can reset the link at any time from the same screen, which instantly invalidates the old one. This is the only way to revoke access for people who have not joined yet. To turn a number into a one-to-one chat link instead of a group link, use our free WhatsApp link generator.

If you expect to outgrow 1,024 people, look at WhatsApp Communities, which let you group many chats under one structure with a shared announcement channel. We cover the full setup in our WhatsApp Communities guide.

Using WhatsApp groups for your store (and the limits)

A WhatsApp group can be a real asset for an online store, in the right size.

Where groups work well:

• A VIP or insider group of your most loyal customers, capped at a few hundred people, where you drop early access and product news.
• A product launch or pre-order group that runs for a few weeks and is then archived.
• A wholesale or stockist group for B2B buyers who genuinely want to talk to each other.

To keep it controlled, set Send messages to admins only so it behaves like a clean announcement feed, and you can still gather feedback with a quick WhatsApp poll.

Where groups fall short for marketing:

• The 1,024 cap is far too small for a store newsletter audience.
• There is no segmentation: everyone gets the same message, with no way to target by purchase history or location.
• Member phone numbers are visible to everyone else in the group, which is a privacy and compliance problem.
• You cannot personalise messages or automate them based on cart activity or order status.

This is the point where a dedicated platform takes over. Kanal connects to your Shopify store and uses the official WhatsApp Business API to send one-to-one messages: abandoned cart recovery, order and shipping notifications, segmented broadcasts, and an AI chatbot that replies in your brand voice. Numbers stay private, every message is personalised, opt-in is tracked for compliance, and there is no 1,024 ceiling. Groups are for community; Kanal is for selling at scale.

If you are comparing options, our roundup of the best WhatsApp apps for Shopify breaks down where each tool fits, and the WhatsApp Business API guide explains how proper at-scale messaging is structured.

Conclusion: groups for community, Kanal for scale

Creating a WhatsApp group is quick on any device: open a new chat, choose New group, pick members, name it, and you are done. Managing it well comes down to using admin controls, invite links and group settings to keep things organised, and remembering the 1,024-member cap.

For a small, engaged circle, a group is excellent. For reaching every customer with personalised, automated, compliant messaging, a group cannot do the job. That is where a broadcast list or the WhatsApp Business API steps in.

If your store is ready for WhatsApp that actually scales, book a Kanal demo or review the pricing plans to see how it fits.

Resources

• WhatsApp broadcast guide
• WhatsApp Business API guide
• WhatsApp Communities guide
• How to create a poll on WhatsApp
• Free WhatsApp link generator
• Best WhatsApp apps for Shopify
• Book a Kanal demo
• Official WhatsApp groups help centre