WhatsApp increases the number of members in groups to 1,024

According to leaker website WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has increased the maximum number of users allowed in a group conversation to 1,024, following the addition of the option for “Call URLs” — invite links for attending in-app calls — as a feature late last month.

WhatsApp has increased the maximum number of group chat participants on multiple occasions this year. The cap was raised to 512 members back in May after being capped at 256 since 2016.

A move to improve the recently added Communities feature, which enables several groups to all be added under a single Community umbrella, is probably behind the decision to increase the total number of individuals permitted in a group.

The new group cap should enable room for up to 20,480 members for the first 20 groups, plus an additional 5,000 from the announcement group, since each Community allows for up to 21 groups. The first 20 groups could only fit 10,240 members under the previous 512-member limit, plus an additional 5,000 for the announcement group.

Along with the increased group chat member limit, the messaging app has received a tonne of changes and new features this year, such as emoji reactions, the option to hide the “Last Seen” status for particular contacts, more capabilities for group phone conversations, and an improved native Windows client.

Larger groups, enterprises, or organisations could find the enlarged limit useful. Despite the minor increase in the cap, organising and police such sizable crowds does have its own challenges. This change comes shortly after WhatsApp increased group calls to only 32 people and included a more practical “Call Link” option for sharing group call details.

You might not have seen the increased group limit yet, even if the most recent WhatsApp beta release is loaded on your smartphone. However, as Meta promotes it to more consumers, it is expected to trickle out gradually.