WhatsApp Group Invite Link via the Groups API

Drawing 1 · Interactive

From invite sent to member: where do people drop?

5 / 5

13.3% drop-off · 16 people lost(biggest leak)
9.6% drop-off · 10 people lost
6.4% drop-off · 6 people lost
5.7% drop-off · 5 people lost

Stage 5 of 5

Still in the group at handover

83 people

94.3% of the previous stage made it here (5.7% drop-off, 5 people lost). That is 69.2% of the top.

Leaves arrive as group_participants_remove, initiated by the participant.

Top to bottom: 69.2%
Biggest leak: Invite delivered → Invite read (13.3%)

An illustrative quarter of project groups that need approval to join. Step through the stages your statuses and webhooks can actually see, from the delivered invite to the people still in the group at handover.

What is a group invite link?

A group invite link is the https://chat.whatsapp.com/… link that lets a WhatsApp user join a group a business created through the Groups API — the membership mechanism behind WhatsApp groups for business on the Cloud API. A business cannot add people to such a group directly, so the invite link is the only way in: the business sends it to the people it wants, in a chat message or a group invite link template, and each person decides whether to tap and join.

The link belongs to the group. It is included in the group_lifecycle_update webhook that confirms the group was created, and can be fetched at any time with GET /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link. POST /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link resets it, issuing a new link and invalidating every earlier one — the way to close a link that has been forwarded too widely. People already in the group stay in it, and participants the business removes cannot rejoin through an invite link.

A group can admit people instantly or on approval. With join_approval_mode: auto_approve, the default, a tap adds the person and fires a group_participants_update webhook of type group_participants_add with reason: invite_link. With approval_required, a tap creates a join request — webhook type group_join_request_created, with a join_request_id and the requester's wa_id — which the business lists with GET /{GROUP_ID}/join_requests, approves with POST or rejects with DELETE. Groups made this way hold up to 8 participants, so an invite link suits a family, a project team or a class; for one-to-many reach, broadcast list vs group explains the alternatives.

Key takeaways

A group invite link is the chat.whatsapp.com URL that lets people join a group your business created with the Groups API.
Businesses cannot add participants directly; people join only by opening an invite link they were sent.
Fetch the link with GET /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link; a POST to the same path resets it and invalidates every earlier link.
With join_approval_mode: approval_required, each tap becomes a join request you approve or reject through the API.
Groups API groups are small, up to 8 participants, and need an Official Business Account on the Cloud API.

Specifications

A group invite link: key facts and limits

Link format: https://chat.whatsapp.com/…
Get the link: GET /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link
Reset the link: POST /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link (old links die)
Join modes: auto_approve (default) or approval_required
Participants per group: Up to 8
Groups per business number: Up to 10,000
Eligibility: Official Business Account; not Business app numbers
Join webhooks: group_participants_update

Implementation

A group invite link in code

1# Create a group that needs approval to join
2curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/groups" \
3  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
4  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
5  -d '{
6    "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
7    "subject": "Flat 1204 · Interiors",
8    "description": "Project updates for Flat 1204, Kondapur",
9    "join_approval_mode": "approval_required"
10  }'
11 
12# Get the current invite link
13curl "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/{GROUP_ID}/invite_link" \
14  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}"
15# → "invite_link": "https://chat.whatsapp.com/{INVITE_CODE}"
16 
17# Reset it: every earlier link stops working
18curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/{GROUP_ID}/invite_link" \
19  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
20  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
21  -d '{ "messaging_product": "whatsapp" }'
22 
23# Approve pending join requests (DELETE with the same body rejects them)
24curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/{GROUP_ID}/join_requests" \
25  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
26  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
27  -d '{ "messaging_product": "whatsapp", "join_requests": ["{JOIN_REQUEST_ID}"] }'

Operating sequence

How does a group invite link work?

Create the group
POST to /{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/groups with a subject (up to 128 characters), an optional description (up to 2,048) and join_approval_mode. The business number becomes the group's creator and admin.
Get the link
Read invite_link from the group_lifecycle_update webhook, or fetch it with GET /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link. It always starts with https://chat.whatsapp.com/.
Send it to the right people
Share it one to one with the people who should join, in a chat message or a group invite link template that takes the group's ID. Never post it publicly.
Handle joins
Auto-approve groups report each join as group_participants_add. Approval groups report group_join_request_created: check the wa_id against your invite list, then approve or reject through /{GROUP_ID}/join_requests.
Reset when it leaks
If the link reaches people it should not, POST /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link issues a new one and kills all old links. Remove anyone unwanted with DELETE /{GROUP_ID}/participants.

Failure modes

Common mistakes with a group invite link

Posting the link publicly
Anyone with the link can join an auto-approve group. Share it one to one, or create the group with approval_required so every tap becomes a request you check.
Approving requests blindly
A join request carries the requester's wa_id. Match it against the people you invited before approving, and reject numbers nobody can vouch for.
Never resetting the link
Forwarded links keep working until reset. Reset after a project ends or a link leaks — and remember a reset also breaks the link for invitees who have not joined yet.
Looking for an add-participant call
The Groups API cannot add people directly. Design the flow around sending links and handling the joins and requests they produce.
Using a group as a broadcast
With at most 8 participants and no interactive messages, a Groups API group is for small, shared conversations. Use templates, broadcasts or Channels for one-to-many reach.

Design intent

Why does a group invite link matter?

An invite link is where a business group's privacy is won or lost. People join by their own tap, which makes membership opt-in by design, but a link forwarded beyond the intended family or batch can let strangers into a conversation full of personal or project details. Approval mode, timely resets and a disciplined join-request workflow keep a group to the people it was meant for — and the join webhooks leave a record of who came in, when and how.

Example: One group per home project in Hyderabad

A Hyderabad interior-design studio opens a WhatsApp group for each home project: the homeowners, a relative or two, the designer and the site supervisor. Every group is created with approval_required. The studio sends the invite link to the homeowner, who forwards it to her parents; their taps arrive as join requests, the designer approves the two numbers the homeowner named, and rejects a third nobody recognises. At handover the studio resets the link so an old forward cannot add anyone later. Across a quarter's projects the funnel shows most invited people joining, and where the rest fell away.

Recommended practice

Best practices for a group invite link

Give the group a subject the invitee will recognise, such as the project or batch name, so the invite looks expected.
Send the link with a sentence on who else will be in the group and why.
Log every join, request, approval, removal and leave from the webhooks as the group's membership record.
Create Groups-specific templates; Meta does not report template performance metrics for templates used in groups.

Group Invite Link FAQs

Can a business add customers to a WhatsApp group through the API?+

No. The Groups API has no call to add participants; the business sends an invite link and each person joins by tapping it, which keeps group membership opt-in.

How do I get the invite link for a group created with the Groups API?+

Call GET /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link, or read invite_link from the group_lifecycle_update webhook sent when the group is created. The link starts with https://chat.whatsapp.com/.

How do I revoke a WhatsApp group invite link?+

Reset it with POST /{GROUP_ID}/invite_link. That issues a new link and makes every earlier one invalid; people already in the group stay in it.

Can I approve who joins a business WhatsApp group?+

Yes. Create the group with join_approval_mode set to approval_required; each tap then creates a join request that you list, approve or reject through the /{GROUP_ID}/join_requests endpoint.

How many people can join a Groups API group?+

Up to 8 participants per group, with up to 10,000 groups per business number. These groups are meant for small conversations such as a family, a project team or a class.

See InfiQ pricing

Group Invite Link

From invite sent to member: where do people drop?

What is a group invite link?

A group invite link: key facts and limits

A group invite link in code

How does a group invite link work?

Create the group

Get the link

Send it to the right people

Handle joins

Reset when it leaks

Common mistakes with a group invite link

Posting the link publicly

Approving requests blindly

Never resetting the link

Looking for an add-participant call

Using a group as a broadcast

Why does a group invite link matter?

Example: One group per home project in Hyderabad

Best practices for a group invite link

Group Invite Link FAQs

See how this works on InfiQ

Put Group Invite Link to work

See how this works on InfiQ