How to create a broadcast list on WhatsApp

To create a WhatsApp broadcast list on Android, open Chats, tap More options (the three dots), then Broadcast lists, and start a new list. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Broadcast messages and New List. Pick up to 256 contacts. Only people who have saved your number receive it, and lists can't be made on WhatsApp Web or desktop.

Everyone on the list gets your message as a private chat from you, and replies come back to you alone. Below: the steps for each phone, editing and deleting a list, who actually receives it, the limits as of October 2026, the Business app's paid alternative, and what to use when a list stops being enough.

How to create a broadcast list on Android

1. 1Open WhatsApp on the Chats tab.
2. 2Tap More options (the three dots), then Broadcast lists.
3. 3Tap the new list button.
4. 4Search for or select the contacts you want, up to 256.
5. 5Tap the tick to create the list, then type and send your message as in any chat.

Give the list a name you'll recognise later, such as "Class 10 parents" or "Wholesale buyers, Surat": open the list, tap More options → Broadcast list info, then More options again → Change broadcast list name.

How to create a broadcast list on iPhone

1. 1Tap Settings, or your profile picture, then Broadcast messages.
2. 2Tap New List.
3. 3Search for or select the contacts you want.
4. 4Tap Create, then write your message.

Older guides send iPhone users to a Broadcast Lists link at the top of the Chats screen. As of October 2026, WhatsApp's help centre puts lists under Settings → Broadcast messages instead, so look there if a guide's directions don't match your phone. To rename a list, tap the i next to it, then tap its name.

Can you create a broadcast list on WhatsApp Web or desktop?

No. WhatsApp's help centre says broadcast lists aren't supported on Windows, Mac or Web, so they're created, edited and sent from the phone app. That rules out running broadcasts from WhatsApp Web on an office computer: whoever holds the phone holds the lists. If a team needs to send from desktops, a broadcast list is the wrong tool, as the last section explains.

Who receives a WhatsApp broadcast message?

Only the people on the list who have saved your number in their phone's address book. Anyone who hasn't won't receive it, and WhatsApp's advice is simply to ask them to add you to their contacts. Those who do receive it see an ordinary message from you in their Chats tab, and their replies come to you privately, not to the rest of the list.

The saved-number rule decides how useful a list is. A tuition centre in Indore or a boutique in Jaipur that collects numbers on a form will reach only the people who saved its number. Ask for the save at the first contact, on the fee receipt, the order slip or the visiting card, and a list works; skip it, and everyone who never saved the number is left out. Community vs group vs broadcast vs channel compares all four ways of reaching a crowd.

How to edit or delete a broadcast list

• Add or remove people on Android: open the list, tap More options → Broadcast list info → Edit recipients, select contacts to add or tap the x on someone's picture to remove them, then tap the tick.
• Add or remove people on iPhone: go to Settings → Broadcast messages, tap the i next to the list, then Edit list to add people or tap the x on someone's picture to remove them, and tap Done.
• Delete a list on Android: open it, tap More options → Broadcast list info → Delete broadcast list → Delete. A tick box offers to delete the list's media from your gallery as well.
• Delete a list on iPhone: go to Settings → Broadcast messages, swipe left on the list and tap Delete.

What are the limits on WhatsApp broadcast lists?

Only the monthly cap moves. Where it has reached your account, Settings → Broadcasts shows your count, WhatsApp warns you as you near the limit, and its suggestion for reaching more people is Status updates or a channel. The WhatsApp broadcast limit guide tracks the cap's rollout, and creating a WhatsApp channel covers the channel route.

Broadcasts on the WhatsApp Business app

The Business app adds a separate, paid feature called business broadcasts, under Tools → Business broadcasts. As of October 2026, WhatsApp's help centre describes it like this: you choose an audience from your contacts, add a photo and an optional action button (a catalogue item, a custom reply, a phone call or a website), and send straight away or schedule it for later. Meta reviews each business broadcast before it goes out.

Once any free messages are used up, including those that come with subscriptions such as Meta Verified, you pay for each message delivered within five days, priced by the recipient's country code, and money held for undelivered messages is credited back. Business broadcasts are only available in some countries, so check the Tools menu on your own app before planning around them.

When a broadcast list isn't enough

• People who haven't saved your number: a list never reaches them. A one-to-one message does, provided they're expecting it.
• More than a few hundred people: extra lists work, but where the monthly cap applies, every send to every list draws on the same allowance.
• Personal details: a broadcast sends identical text to everyone. Names, amounts due or class timings need separate messages, as personalising WhatsApp messages explains.
• A team working at computers: lists stay on one phone.

Campaign tools fill those gaps. WavesFlo sends one personalised message per row of a Google Sheet or CSV, each as a one-to-one chat from your own linked number, with scheduling, quiet hours and an opt-out register checked at send time. It isn't a way round WhatsApp's rules: every number keeps daily and hourly ceilings, and the sheet should hold people who asked to hear from you. Messaging many contacts without a broadcast list compares the options, and Google Sheets to WhatsApp walks through one campaign.