Groups
WhatsApp group: how to create, leave and delete
Quick answer
How do you create, leave and delete a WhatsApp group?
To create a WhatsApp group, open the app menu, tap New group, choose the contacts and give it a name. To leave, tap the group name and then Exit group. According to the WhatsApp Help Center, only an admin can delete the group for everyone, and they must remove all members first.
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How to create a group and invite people by link, how to leave with or without the history, how to delete the group for everyone and what can't be undone. All checked against the WhatsApp Help Center.
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Summary in 7 facts
- How to create a group and invite people by link, how to leave with or without the history, how to delete the group for everyone and what can't be undone.
- All checked against the WhatsApp Help Center.
- To create a WhatsApp group, open the app menu, tap New group, choose the contacts and give it a name.
- To leave, tap the group name and then Exit group.
- 01 Create A group takes up to 1,024 members, and the name can have up to 100 characters.
- The steps come from the article "How to create a group and invite people" in the WhatsApp Help Center.
- Open the menu and tap New group You can also start from inside a conversation, through its menu, or copy the members of an existing group with Create similar group.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 100 characters | 01 Create A group takes up to 1,024 members, and the name can have up to 100 characters. |
| 24 hours | Adjust what you want and confirm Before creating it, you can turn on disappearing messages, for 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, and open Group permissions to set what members and admins… |
| 33 people | By default, in groups with fewer than 33 people, members can also create the link. |
| 60 days | Former members list: your name and number stay on this list, in the group's data, for up to 60 days after you leave. |
| 81 days | The wait grows: each exit increases this time, up to a maximum of 81 days. |
| 100 messages | And a person who is added can receive up to 100 messages from the last 14 days of the conversation, if the person who added them turns on sending the history, according to the article How to add and remove group members. |
Create, leave and delete: what changes with each
They are three different actions, and only the first can be redone without loss.
Create
A group takes up to 1,024 members, and the name can have up to 100 characters. You can add people later.
Leave
You choose between leaving and keeping the history or leaving and deleting the group from your phone. The admins see the notice that you left.
Delete for everyone
Only an admin can do it, and they have to remove all members first. Once deleted, the group can't be restored.
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How to create a group on WhatsApp, step by step
The steps come from the article "How to create a group and invite people" in the WhatsApp Help Center.
Open the menu and tap New group
You can also start from inside a conversation, through its menu, or copy the members of an existing group with Create similar group.
Choose the contacts
Search or select who joins. If you prefer, add the members later.
Give the group a name
The name can have up to 100 characters. Without a name, the group appears with the list of members. You can set a picture on the same screen.
Adjust what you want and confirm
Before creating it, you can turn on disappearing messages, for 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, and open Group permissions to set what members and admins can do.
Who can do what in a WhatsApp group
Each row comes from an article in the WhatsApp Help Center, read on October 11, 2026.
| What you want | Who can | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Create a group | You, through the app menu | The group takes up to 1,024 members |
| Invite by link or QR code | Admins and, by default, members of groups with fewer than 33 people | Anyone with the link joins and can pass it on |
| Leave the group | Any member | The admins see the notice, and the history stays on your phone |
| Exit and delete for me | Any member | The group and the history disappear from your phone, with no way back |
| Delete the group for everyone | Only an admin, after removing all members | No one can send messages there anymore |
| Go back to the group | Whoever is invited again | After leaving twice, there is a 24-hour wait, except through an invite link |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
What happens when you delete a WhatsApp group
Deleting does not make the group disappear from other people's phones. According to the article How to leave a group and delete it as an admin, when you remove a member or delete a group, the group is not deleted from the other people's devices: they still find the group in their chat list and read the old messages, unless they choose to delete it. What changes is that no one can send messages there anymore.
On your phone, the group leaves the chat list and the history is removed. The same article warns that you can't restore a group after deleting it: to have the group back, you have to create another one.
If you leave without removing everyone, you only delete the group from your device. For the other people, it keeps working.
How to invite people to the group by link or QR code
The steps come from the article How to create a group and invite people. By default, in groups with fewer than 33 people, members can also create the link. The admin decides, in Group permissions, whether members can invite by link.
- Open the group chat and tap the group name.
- Tap Invite via link or QR code.
- Choose how to send it: through WhatsApp itself, on Status, by copying the link or by generating a QR code.
- Be careful who receives it: anyone with the link joins the group and can forward the link to others.
- Link leaked? The admin taps Reset link. The old link stops working and can't be restored.
How to leave a WhatsApp group
The steps and notices come from the article How to leave a group as a member.
- Open the group chat and tap the group name.
- Tap Exit group.
- Choose Exit group, to leave and keep the history, or Exit and delete for me, to leave and remove the group from your chat list.
- Who finds out: the notice that you left appears for the group admins, and you can't turn that notice off.
- Former members list: your name and number stay on this list, in the group's data, for up to 60 days after you leave.
- Community group: when you leave, you also leave the community and its other groups.
How to delete a WhatsApp group as an admin
To delete the group for everyone, you have to be an admin and remove all members first. The steps come from the article How to leave a group and delete it as an admin.
- Open the group chat and tap the group name.
- Tap each person's name and then Remove, until no one is left.
- With everyone removed, tap Exit group.
- Choose Exit and delete for me. You can also delete the group's photos and videos that are in your phone's gallery.
- If you had already left, open the group, tap its name and then Delete group.
I left the group by mistake: how to get back in
According to the article How to rejoin a group, to return to a group you left, or deleted, you have to ask an admin to invite you again. Depending on the group's permissions, a member can also add you.
- Left twice: you have to wait 24 hours until someone can add you again.
- The wait grows: each exit increases this time, up to a maximum of 81 days.
- The invite link avoids the wait: an admin or member can send you the link.
- You were the only admin: when you leave, another person is chosen at random to be admin. To get the role back, the new admin has to promote you.
- The history doesn't come back: after you exit and delete, you can't find or recover the group and its messages.
Scam in the group? Report it before deleting
The article How to leave a group and delete it as an admin gives a warning: the chat history can serve as evidence in a report of a scam or fraud to the authorities, and deleting the conversation removes that history from the device for good. Anyone who was tricked in a group should choose Exit group, which keeps the messages, and not Exit and delete for me.
When you leave, the app may show the Report group option. According to the same article, when a group is reported, up to five of the last messages sent in it go to WhatsApp, and no group member is notified.
How to stop people from adding you to groups
By default, anyone who has your number can add you to a group. According to the article How to change group privacy settings, you can change that on your phone: in Settings, tap Privacy and then Groups.
- Everyone: anyone adds you without asking.
- My contacts: only your contacts add you directly. Someone who isn't a contact has to send an invitation.
- My contacts except: you remove from the list whoever keeps putting you in groups.
- The link overrides it: the setting only applies to people who try to add you directly. If someone sends an invite link, you join if you want to.
- It doesn't change on a computer: this setting only exists on the phone.
For a business: a group is not a customer service queue
A group is for notifying many people at once. For customer service, it gets in the way: one customer's question gets lost among the others. And a person who is added can receive up to 100 messages from the last 14 days of the conversation, if the person who added them turns on sending the history, according to the article How to add and remove group members. A price agreed with a customer is not something to leave there.
What WhatsApp says about messaging people who didn't ask for it is in banned WhatsApp number: what to do and how to avoid it. To serve each customer in their own conversation, see automatic customer service on WhatsApp: at CertuAI, the AI replies to people who wrote to your business, using what you taught the Brain, and leaves each conversation noted in the customer dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
How many people fit in a WhatsApp group?
Up to 1,024 members, according to the WhatsApp Help Center.
How do you leave a WhatsApp group without anyone knowing?
You can't leave with no notice at all. According to the Help Center, the notice that you left appears only for the group admins, and you can't turn that notice off.
How do you delete a WhatsApp group for everyone?
You have to be an admin. Remove all members, tap Exit group and choose Exit and delete for me. After that, no one can send messages in the group anymore.
Can you recover a deleted WhatsApp group?
No. The Help Center says you can't restore a group after deleting it. You have to create a new group or ask an admin to add you again.
When I delete a group, does it disappear from everyone else's phone?
No. The other members still see the group and the old messages in their chat list, unless they delete it. They just can't send messages there anymore.
I left the group. How do I get back?
Ask an admin to invite you again. After leaving twice, there is a 24-hour wait, which an invite link avoids.
What happens if the only admin leaves the group?
According to the Help Center, another person in the group is chosen at random to be the new admin.
How do I stop people from adding me to WhatsApp groups?
On your phone, open Settings, tap Privacy and then Groups, and choose My contacts or My contacts except. Invite links still reach you, but you only join if you want to.
Where to go next?
Each customer in their own conversation
A group is good for announcements, and bad for serving one customer at a time. At CertuAI, the AI replies to people who wrote to your business, on your number, using what you taught the Brain, and leaves each conversation noted in the customer dashboard. When the topic needs a person, it notifies you.
From US$ 75 per month.
Create my agentIn short
How do you create, leave and delete a WhatsApp group? To create a WhatsApp group, open the app menu, tap New group, choose the contacts and give it a name. To leave, tap the group name and then Exit group. According to the WhatsApp Help Center, only an admin can delete the group for everyone, and they must remove all members first.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent