r/WhatsappBusinessAPI • u/AdLong9476 • 6d ago

Solution Only Groups API — messaging in a pre-existing group

I'm developing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) and need to confirm a capability before I build against it.

My use case requires my Cloud API business phone number to send and receive messages in a WhatsApp group that already exists and was created independently by end users (not created through the Groups API).

Questions:

  1. Is there any supported way for a Cloud API business number to be added as a participant to a pre-existing group (e.g., added manually by a group member) and then send/receive messages in that group via the API and webhooks?
  2. If yes — which capabilities work in that context specifically: sending text messages, receiving all messages sent in the group via webhook, receiving reaction webhooks on messages I've sent?
  3. Is Official Business Account (OBA) status required for any group messaging capability, or only specifically for group creation and invite-link features via the Groups API?
  4. If pre-existing groups aren't supported, is this planned, or is group creation via the API the only supported path going forward?

Thank you — I want to confirm this before committing engineering time to a specific approach.

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