--- title: "WhatsApp broadcast: how it works and its limits - Eventi" description: "What a WhatsApp broadcast is, how to send one on iPhone and Android, why some people never receive it, and what to do when you need replies back." canonical: https://ueventi.com/whatsapp-broadcast last-updated: 2026-11-08 --- ![](/media/photos/host-phone-800.webp) ![](/media/photos/ai-host-planning-800.webp) ![](/media/photos/party-confetti-800.webp) ![](/media/photos/host-phone-800.webp) ![](/media/photos/ai-host-planning-800.webp) ![](/media/photos/party-confetti-800.webp) WhatsApp broadcast # WhatsApp broadcast: one message to many, with a catch. A WhatsApp broadcast sends one message to up to 256 contacts as separate private chats, so nobody sees who else received it and every reply comes back to you alone. It only reaches people who have your number saved in their phone, which is the part most guides skip. This hub explains how to create a broadcast on iPhone and Android, how it differs from a group, where it works well and where it quietly fails, and what to use when you need to know who answered. [Send one message per person with reply buttons](/solutions) Free to start, no credit card. ## What a WhatsApp broadcast actually is A broadcast is a saved list of contacts that WhatsApp treats as a shortcut. You write one message and WhatsApp delivers it to every person on the list as an ordinary one-to-one chat. The recipient sees your message in their chat with you, not in any shared space, and if they reply, the reply lands in that same private chat. Nobody on the list knows the message went to anyone else. A group is the opposite. Everyone sees everyone, every message and every reply is public to the whole group, and members can message each other. Groups are good for conversation among people who already know each other. Broadcasts are good for announcements to people who should not be put in a room together: clients, patients, parents from different families, members of a congregation. The third option, which most people do not know they have, is to send one message per person from a tool that collects the replies as counts. That approach is explained lower on this page, and it matters only when you need something back. ## How to create a WhatsApp broadcast The steps differ slightly between iPhone and Android. Both take under a minute. 1 ### On iPhone: open Broadcast Lists Open WhatsApp, go to the Chats tab and tap Broadcast Lists at the top left. Tap New List, pick the contacts you want, then tap Create. The list opens like a chat. Type your message and send it as you would to one person. 2 ### On Android: use the menu Open WhatsApp on the Chats tab, tap the three dots in the top right and choose New broadcast. Select the recipients, tap the green check mark, and the broadcast opens as a chat. Send your message from there. 3 ### Name the list Tap the list name at the top, then the pencil or Edit option, and give it a name you will recognize next month, such as Tuesday yoga or Parents 3rd grade. WhatsApp never shows the name to recipients. 4 ### Reuse it The list stays in your Chats or Broadcast Lists screen. Open it again next week and send the next message to the same people. Add or remove contacts from the list info screen whenever the roster changes. ## The rules that decide whether your broadcast arrives ### Recipients must have your number saved WhatsApp only delivers a broadcast to people who have your phone number in their contacts. Anyone who has chatted with you but never saved you simply never gets it, and you receive no error. ### 256 recipients per list A single broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts. Larger audiences need several lists, which means sending the same message several times. ### Replies are private Each answer arrives in your one-to-one chat with that person. With a large list that means scrolling through dozens of chats to find out who said yes. ### No answer count WhatsApp shows delivery ticks per person inside the message info, but there is no summary of who answered and no reminder for those who did not. ### Sent from your own number A broadcast goes out from the phone that created it, so recipients see you, not a business. That is reassuring for a small list and a liability if the number belongs to a staff member who may leave. ## When a broadcast is enough A broadcast is the right tool when the message needs no answer. A snow day notice, a changed sermon time, a reminder that the studio is closed Monday, a link to the photos from Saturday's game. Everyone on the list already knows you, has your number saved, and does not have to do anything but read. It stops being enough the moment you need to count. Who is coming to practice Thursday. Who can cover the Saturday shift. Which patients are confirming tomorrow. Which parents paid the field trip fee. Those answers trickle into thirty separate chats, part of the list never saw the message because they never saved your number, and you have no way to nudge only the silent ones without writing to everyone again. ## The one-message-per-person alternative Eventi takes a pasted or imported contact list, one message, and up to three reply buttons such as Yes, No and Maybe. Each person receives their own WhatsApp message from Eventi's verified number with your name in the first line, taps a button, and the answer lands in a private count that updates live and exports to a spreadsheet. Nobody needs to have saved anything. Reminders go only to the people who have not tapped yet, on the schedule you choose, and stop the moment someone answers. Quiet hours are respected. Contacts without WhatsApp get the same message as a text, and for the ones who still stay silent you can turn on an AI phone call. Creating an account and a list is free, with no credit card. Sending is paid per campaign and the amount is shown in the dashboard before you confirm. ## More on WhatsApp broadcasts ### Broadcast lists Creating, editing and deleting lists, choosing recipients, and why some people never receive your message. ### The broadcast limit The 256-recipient ceiling, the saved-contact rule, and how people work around both. ### Message samples Ten broadcast texts that ask for a reply, for classes, congregations, teams, clinics and stores. ## WhatsApp broadcast: common questions Straight answers before you send anything. ### What is the difference between a WhatsApp broadcast and a group? ### Why did some people not receive my WhatsApp broadcast? ### Can people see who else is on a broadcast list? ### How do I know who replied to a broadcast? ### Does a WhatsApp broadcast work with WhatsApp Business? ## Keep going [WhatsApp broadcast list: create, edit and manage](/whatsapp-broadcast/list)[WhatsApp broadcast limit: 256 and the saved rule](/whatsapp-broadcast/limit)[WhatsApp broadcast message samples](/whatsapp-broadcast/message-sample)[Class reminders on WhatsApp](/solutions/class-reminders) [Start free](https://app.ueventi.com/login)