Update Group Settings

Configure group messaging and editing permissions.

POST /group/updateSetting/:instanceName

cURL (Enable Announcement Mode)

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance \
  --header 'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
    "action": "announcement"
  }'

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance \
  --header 'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
    "action": "locked"
  }'

// Enable announcement mode (only admins can send messages)
const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      groupJid: '[e-mail]',
      action: 'announcement'
    })
  }
);

const data = await response.json();

import requests

# Allow all members to edit group info
response = requests.post(
    'https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance',
    headers={
        'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'groupJid': '[e-mail]',
        'action': 'unlocked'
    }
)

data = response.json()

201 Success (Announcement Enabled)

{
  "success": true,
  "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
  "action": "announcement",
  "announce": true,
  "restrict": true
}

{
  "success": true,
  "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
  "action": "unlocked",
  "announce": false,
  "restrict": false
}

{
  "error": "Invalid action",
  "message": "Action must be one of: announcement, not_announcement, locked, unlocked"
}

{
  "error": "Insufficient permissions",
  "message": "You must be a group admin to change group settings"
}

{
  "error": "Group not found",
  "message": "The specified group does not exist"
}

Overview

You can control who can send messages and edit group information. This includes setting the group to announcement-only mode or restricting who can change group settings.

Only group admins can modify group settings.

Authentication

This endpoint requires authentication via the apikey header.

header.apikey · string · required

Your Evolution API key for authentication.

Path Parameters

path.instanceName · string · required

The name of your WhatsApp instance.

Request Body

groupJid · string · required

The WhatsApp group JID (can be provided with or without the @g.us suffix).

action · string · required

The setting to change. Must be one of:

• announcement: Only admins can send messages (enable announcement mode)
• not_announcement: All members can send messages (disable announcement mode)
• locked: Only admins can edit group info (subject, description, picture)
• unlocked: All members can edit group info

Response

success · boolean

Whether the setting was updated successfully.

groupJid · string

The group’s WhatsApp JID.

action · string

The action that was performed.

announce · boolean

Current announcement mode status.

restrict · boolean

Current restriction status for editing group info.

cURL (Enable Announcement Mode)

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance \
  --header 'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
    "action": "announcement"
  }'

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance \
  --header 'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
    "action": "locked"
  }'

// Enable announcement mode (only admins can send messages)
const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      groupJid: '[e-mail]',
      action: 'announcement'
    })
  }
);

const data = await response.json();

import requests

# Allow all members to edit group info
response = requests.post(
    'https://api.example.com/group/updateSetting/my-instance',
    headers={
        'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'groupJid': '[e-mail]',
        'action': 'unlocked'
    }
)

data = response.json()

201 Success (Announcement Enabled)

{
  "success": true,
  "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
  "action": "announcement",
  "announce": true,
  "restrict": true
}

{
  "success": true,
  "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
  "action": "unlocked",
  "announce": false,
  "restrict": false
}

{
  "error": "Invalid action",
  "message": "Action must be one of: announcement, not_announcement, locked, unlocked"
}

{
  "error": "Insufficient permissions",
  "message": "You must be a group admin to change group settings"
}

{
  "error": "Group not found",
  "message": "The specified group does not exist"
}

Setting Explanations

Announcement Mode

announcement

When enabled, only group admins can send messages. Regular members can only read messages. This is useful for broadcast-style groups where you want to limit who can post.

not_announcement

When disabled, all group members can send messages. This is the default setting for most groups.

Group Info Editing

locked

When locked, only admins can change the group subject (name), description, and profile picture. Regular members cannot edit these settings.

unlocked

When unlocked, all members can change the group subject, description, and profile picture.

Usage Notes

Combining announcement mode with locked settings creates a fully admin-controlled group where only admins can post and edit.

These settings don’t affect the ability to add or remove participants, which always requires admin permissions.

Additional Endpoints

Toggle Disappearing Messages

To configure disappearing messages (ephemeral mode):

POST /group/toggleEphemeral/:instanceName

Request body:

{
  "groupJid": "[e-mail]",
  "expiration": 86400
}

Expiration values:

• 0: Disabled (messages don’t disappear)
• 86400: 24 hours (1 day)
• 604800: 7 days
• 7776000: 90 days