Why Can’t I Forward Messages on WhatsApp

WhatsApp allows you to forward messages from one conversation to all contacts or groups. To curb misinformation, WhatsApp employed responsible measures when forwarding a messages. That’s probably why you can’t forward messages on WhatsApp at times.

As WhatsApp has grown in popularity, the social network tightened its grip on user security and privacy. Besides showing you a forwarded messages, WhatsApp distinguishes it by showing the word ‘Forwarded’ at the top of the message.

WhatsApp Forwarding Limits

Now that you know why WhatsApp doesn’t allow you to forward messages all the time, it’s time to learn about current WhatsApp forwarding limits.

You can forward messages or media with up to five chats at one time. When trying to forward a forwarded message, you are limited to sharing it with up to five chats, including one WhatsApp group.

If you want to reach more audiences at a time, there are some ways to bypass WhatsApp forwarding limits in the app.

Forward a Message to the WhatsApp Group

Did you receive an interesting message or media file to share? When you forward it to individual chats, WhatsApp will limit it to five users at a time. Instead, you can create multiple groups and share the message in five groups with forwarding.

With the recent update, WhatsApp has expanded the group capacity from 256 members to 512 members. And with a forwarding limit in up to five groups, you can reach thousands of users at a time.

Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1: Create relevant groups in WhatsApp for Android or iPhone. You can read our WhatsApp group tips and tricks to learn about the group functionality.

Step 2: When you receive a message or media file on WhatsApp, long-press on it and select Forward from the context menu.

Step 3: Select up to five groups from your WhatsApp account and hit the Forward button at the bottom. If you select more than five chats or groups, WhatsApp will disable the Forward button.

Creating WhatsApp groups to forward messages can be inconvenient for some. And what if group members start leaving the group? We have another option for you – Broadcast on WhatsApp.

Share a Message in WhatsApp Broadcast List

This is another nifty way to overcome the forwarding limit in WhatsApp. It’s an even more efficient method than creating WhatsApp groups.

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and create a broadcast list. You can add up to 256 members to a broadcast list.

Step 2: When you receive an interesting message, photo, or video, don’t forward it to your personal broadcast list. It won’t work.

Step 3: For messages, you need to copy the text and paste the same into a broadcast list. Tap on Broadcast Lists at the top and paste the text.

Step 4: As for media files, you need to save them on your phone gallery first.

Step 5: Once you save the media file on your phone, open the broadcast list in WhatsApp and share the photo or video (just like how you share media in WhatsApp chats).

You don’t need to use the forward function here. Create a broadcast list and share messages or media files without facing any limitations. If you are confused between the WhatsApp group and the broadcast list, read our comparison post to learn all the differences.

Limitations with Forwarding a Forwarded Message

You can forward a message or media to up to five chats or five groups, as we mentioned above. But what if the message is already forwarded to you in the first place? Here’s where things get interesting. You can share it with up to five chats when you try to forward a forwarded message, but the group limit decreases from five to one only.

We would advise going with the broadcast trick to share the message with the maximum number of users.

When you forward a single message all the time, WhatsApp might further limit the forwarding function for your account. The app will label ‘forwarded many times’ label to your message, and now you can share it one chat at a time.

Understand WhatsApp Forward Function

Now that you know the reasons behind message forwarding not working in WhatsApp use the mentioned workarounds and reach more users at a time. Note that forwarded messages are end-to-end encrypted. Also, WhatsApp can’t check how many times it’s been forwarded and can’t see the content either.