WhatsApp’s broadcast feature allows you to easily send a message to multiple contacts at once. When you send a broadcast message, it will have a small broadcast icon next to it to indicate that it was sent to multiple recipients.
The broadcast icon is automatically added by WhatsApp when you send a message to multiple recipients. There is no setting to manually add or remove this icon from your messages.
What is a broadcast message?
A broadcast message on WhatsApp is a message sent to multiple recipients at once. Instead of selecting each contact individually, you can choose to broadcast a message to multiple people simultaneously.
This is useful if you have an announcement or update you want to share with a specific group, like family members, coworkers, or teammates. You can craft and send just one message, and it will be delivered to each recipient on your broadcast list.
Broadcast messages function similarly to regular messages. The recipients will see the message in their chat thread with you, and can reply back normally. You will see each response come in individually.
Benefits of broadcast messages
- Reach many contacts efficiently – No need to send the same message repeatedly to each person.
- Share updates instantly – Important news can be distributed to the whole group immediately.
- Create customized groups – Tailor broadcast lists to different audiences.
- Start conversations – Send one message to prompt discussions with multiple people.
How to send a broadcast message
Sending a WhatsApp broadcast message only takes a few simple steps:
- Open the WhatsApp app and go to the ‘Chats’ tab.
- Tap the New Chat icon (usually an icon with a pen and paper).
- Tap ‘New broadcast’.
- Select the contacts you want to include in the broadcast message. You can search or browse your contacts to add them.
- Once you’ve selected all the recipients, tap ‘Done’ in the upper right corner.
- Type your message as you normally would.
- Hit send and your message will be delivered instantly to everyone in the broadcast list.
It’s that easy! You can send broadcasts to up to 256 people at once on WhatsApp.
Tips for using broadcast messages
- Name your broadcast list for easy identification later, like “Family update.”
- Double check your recipient list before sending to ensure you don’t message the wrong group.
- Let recipients know up front that you’ve sent a broadcast message.
- Send only relevant messages to avoid annoying recipients.
- Be cautious about who can see replies when including co-workers or acquaintances.
What does the broadcast icon look like?
The broadcast icon that appears next to WhatsApp broadcast messages is simple and subtle.
It is a standard megaphone image in light grey or white. The megaphone has a small sound wave coming from the broad end to signify broadcasting a message out loud.
The icon is very small and unobtrusive, typically less than half a centimeter in size. It sits to the right of the message timestamp in each person’s chat thread.
This allows recipients to distinguish a broadcast message from a regular one-to-one message. But the icon does not overwhelm or draw excessive attention to broadcast messages.
Example broadcast icon
Here is an example of what the WhatsApp broadcast message icon looks like:
As you can see, it is very minimalistic and simple. Just a tiny megaphone image in light grey, placed to the right of the message details.
This icon will appear next to the message on the sender’s chat screen as well. It helps you easily identify when you’ve sent a broadcast message versus an individual message.
Why can’t I manually add the icon?
WhatsApp intentionally limits the broadcast icon to only display automatically when you send a broadcast message. There is no setting or option to manually add the icon to other messages.
There are a few reasons why WhatsApp designed it this way:
- Prevent misuse – Adding it manually could allow for trickery and false broadcasts.
- Maintain consistency – The icon should only represent true broadcast messages sent through the proper method.
- Limit confusion – Recipients may be confused if they see the icon on single-recipient messages.
- Promote accuracy – The icon denotes a specific feature of WhatsApp, so should be controlled by the app itself.
WhatsApp wants the broadcast icon to be meaningful. If users could arbitrarily add it wherever they pleased, it would dilute the purpose of having the icon at all.
Broadcast lists are also limited to 256 recipients maximum. So the icon helps confirm when a true WhatsApp broadcast has been sent, versus just a message sent to a few individual people.
Third-party apps
Some third-party apps claim to allow you to manually add a broadcast icon to WhatsApp messages. However, this is not changing anything within WhatsApp itself.
These apps typically work by modifying your message after you send it, and only on your device. So recipients will not actually see the fake broadcast icon added.
Manually adding a broadcast icon yourself would also not result in WhatsApp treating that message differently than a normal message.
Troubleshooting tips
If you’ve sent a valid broadcast message but are not seeing the icon, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Update WhatsApp – Make sure you’re on the latest version of the app.
- Restart your phone – Close and relaunch the WhatsApp app.
- Check your internet connection – Connect to wifi or cellular data.
- Open WhatsApp web – Messages sometimes sync faster through the web app.
- Give it time – Large broadcasts may take some time for icons to appear.
- Send another broadcast – Try sending a test broadcast to confirm the icon appears.
If these basic troubleshooting steps do not resolve the issue, contact WhatsApp support for additional help.
Conclusion
The broadcast icon in WhatsApp is a useful visual indicator that lets recipients know a message was sent to multiple people at once.
Remember that this icon is controlled by WhatsApp and will be automatically applied when you use the broadcast message feature. There is no way to manually add the icon yourself to other messages.
Stick to creating broadcast lists and sending messages normally within WhatsApp. This will ensure the broadcast icon appears and your recipients can distinguish these messages from regular one-to-one chats.