How-To

How to Block a Group on WhatsApp

By Adam Davidson

Published April 10, 2023

Are you in a WhatsApp group that you regret joining? All is not lost. Learn how to block a group on WhatsApp in this guide.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. If you’re a WhatsApp user, then you’re almost certainly part of some group chats with multiple other people. Group chats can be great, but you might not want to stay in them forever. Do you really want to read everyone else’s Wordle scores every day now that you don’t even play it anymore?

It’s possible to block individual users on WhatsApp so that they can’t message you anymore. Can you do the same for a group chat? If you want to know how to block a group on WhatsApp, then read on to learn more.

Can You Block a Group on WhatsApp?

The short answer is no—you can’t block an entire group on Whatsapp in the same way that you can block an individual.

There are, however, a number of things you can do if you don’t want to participate in a group anymore. These include muting the group, leaving it altogether, blocking the group admins, and changing who can add you to groups in the first place.

How to Mute a Group on WhatsApp

A quick way to stop participating in a group is to simply mute the whole group. That way, you won’t receive notifications about any messages from the group, although they will still appear in your chat list.

The other members of the group won’t be aware that you’ve muted them. The group and its messages will still be there if you decide you want to unmute it and join back in again.

It should be noted that muting doesn’t affect calls—if someone starts a group chat call, you’ll still receive it.

To mute a group on WhatsApp:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the group chat you want to mute in your chat list.
   
2. At the very top of the screen, tap the group name.
   
3. Tap Mute.
   
4. Select a duration of 8 hours, 1 week, or Always.
   
   
5. The group chat will be muted for the specified amount of time.
6. To unmute the group, repeat steps 1 and 2 above, and tap Unmute.

How to Leave a Group on WhatsApp

If you’d rather not be a part of the group at all anymore, you can opt to leave the group. Admins of the group will be notified that you’ve left, however, so you should be aware that some people will know that you’ve quit the group and may message you directly to ask why.

It also won’t stop the group admin from inviting you back to the group again. If you want to stop that from happening, then you can block all of the group admins, as explained in the next section.

To leave a group on WhatsApp:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap on the group chat that you want to leave.
   
2. At the top of the screen, tap on the group name.
   
3. Scroll to the very bottom of the screen and tap Exit Group.
   
4. You’ll be asked if you’re sure you want to leave the group and given the option to mute the group instead. If you still want to leave, tap Exit Group.
   
5. You are now no longer a member of that group.

How to Block Group Admins on WhatsApp

When you leave a group on WhatsApp, the group admins are notified of your departure. They may try to add you back to the group again, even if you no longer wish to be part of it.

You can politely ask them not to invite you to the group anymore, but if you want to take matters into your own hands, then you can block the admins for the group you’re leaving, which stops them from trying to add you back to the group again.

To block group admins on WhatsApp:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap on the group chat in your chat list.
   
2. At the very top of the screen, tap the name of the group.
   
3. Scroll down to Participants and tap the name of an Admin.
   
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the screen and tap Block Contact. This will show either their name or their number.
   
5. Tap Block to confirm your decision.
   
6. Repeat for any other admins of the group that you wish to block.
7. If you want to stop anyone other than your contacts from adding you to groups, you can control who can add you to WhatsApp groups in the settings.

Take Control of Your WhatsApp Settings

Knowing how to block a group on WhatsApp ensures that you don’t continue to get unwanted messages from a group you no longer want to be part of. While there’s no way to block an entire group on WhatsApp, you can opt to mute the group, or leave it altogether and ensure that you can’t be added back in.

There are plenty of other ways to take more control of WhatsApp. Did you know that you can send disappearing messages in WhatsApp that will delete automatically after seven days? Or that you can set up and use WhatsApp on a Windows PC?

If you decide you want to use a messaging app that’s a lot more privacy-focused, you can always learn how to move from WhatsApp to Signal.