CL's Blog

WhatsApp update- how to message to more than 5

Calvin Lam
Broadcasting to up to 256 contacts, recipients reply only to the sender

WhatsApp has imposed limitation in forwarding messages to only max 5 first in India around August 2019, and now spreading to more countries. This they said is an attempt to cut down on the spread of misinformation, which e.g. earlier in India has resulted in fatal attacks after some misinformation on child attacks went viral. 

First and foremost, I always advocate anyone to think carefully and if possible, verify any information before spreading out.

However, limiting to forwarding to just 5 (contacts or groups) may be counter-productive in certain situations and frustrating for some. But there is an alternative to overcome this – Broadcast (to a list of up to 256 recipients), of course you can also repeat your forwarding exercise- sending to 5 each time.

Broadcast is a relatively new function which allows you to send to a list of up to 256 contacts (on your phone). Broadcast is different from Group, the latter should be familiar to most, hence I would not elaborate on it. Similar to Group, when you send a message to the Broadcast List, it will send to all recipients in the list. BUT – The recipients will receive the message as a normal message. When they reply, it will appear as a normal message in your Chats screen; their reply will NOT be sent to other recipients in the Broadcast List. Hence you should not use Broadcast if you are communicating with the whole group. Below is how to use Broadcast:

Creating a Broadcast List

  1. Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats screen.
  2. Select Options > New Broadcast List.
  3. Select Add to broadcast list and add recipients.
  4. At the bottom of the screen select Save > Create.

This will create a new Broadcast List.

Note: Only contacts who have added you to their address book will receive your broadcast message. If your recipients are not getting your broadcast messages, check to make sure they have added your number to their address book. Again – Broadcast List is a one-to-many communication. If you want your recipients to participate in a group conversation, you should create a Group Chat instead.

Editing a Broadcast List

  1. In the Chats screen, find the Broadcast List you wish to edit.
  2. Tap on the name of the Broadcast List to select it. You then have various editing options:
    • Edit the name of your list by selecting Options > Broadcast List Info.
    • To add a contact go to Options > Broadcast List Info > Tap on the people group icon  > Add Recipient.
    • To remove a contact go to Options > Broadcast List Info > Tap on the people group icon  > Select a contact name > Options > Remove (contact name).
    • similar to Group, you can easily change the name of the Broadcast list by editing it to some meaningful name, such that you can easily retrieve and use it next time

WhatsApp FAQ – How do I use a Broadcast List?. (2019). WhatsApp.com. Retrieved 27 January 2019, from https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/s40/23731148

Learn more about using Broadcast Lists on: Android | iPhone | Windows Phone | BlackBerry | BlackBerry 10Credits and Sources

Credits and Sources

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