Quick Answer
Can you send a message to a WhatsApp group using the API?
No. The WhatsApp Cloud API addresses individual phone numbers only. There is no group id you can send to, no way to create or join a group programmatically, and no webhook for group activity. Tools that claim to post to groups are automating a personal WhatsApp account, which breaks Meta terms and risks a permanent ban on that number. If you need one message to reach many people, the API sends to each of them individually, which is usually better anyway.
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Can the WhatsApp API Send to a Group?
Why groups are out of reach
Groups belong to the consumer product. The Business Platform was built around a business talking to a person, with consent, delivery status and an opt-out attached to that one relationship. None of those ideas survive contact with a group, where you cannot know who is in it or whether each member agreed to hear from you.
So there is no endpoint, and there is no sign of one coming. This is a product decision rather than a gap.
What to do when you need reach
Send individually. At a few hundred recipients this is a non-event for the API, and it gets you things a group never could: delivery and read status per person, replies that do not collide, and an opt-out that works.
It also avoids the social problem with groups, which is that every reply goes to everyone. For a wedding, a four hundred person group is a notification disaster by the second day. Individual messages keep each conversation private.
Tools referenced in this post
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Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a WhatsApp group API?
Not in the official Cloud API. There is no endpoint to create, join, read or post to a group. Products advertising group automation are using unofficial libraries that drive a personal account.
What about broadcast lists?
Broadcast lists are a consumer app feature, capped at 256 contacts per list, and they only deliver to people who have saved your number. They are also one-way, with no RSVP capture or delivery reporting.
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By Weddingkart TeamLast updated