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Remove a participant from a WhatsApp group

DELETE
/v1/whatsapp/groups/{group_id}/participants/{participant_ref}
const group = await bird.whatsapp.groups.participants.remove(
  "wag_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
  "BR.1566655121691972",
);
console.log(group.participants?.length);
Reactie202
{
  "id": "wag_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
  "whatsapp_number_id": "wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
  "waba": "102290129340398",
  "subject": "New Purchase Inquiry",
  "description": "Jim would like to learn about new car purchase options for current year models.",
  "status": "active",
  "join_approval_mode": "auto_approve",
  "invite_link": "https://chat.whatsapp.com/JZm4S9tCkQx2LpVr7Ny8Ab",
  "participants": [
    {
      "bsuid": "US.1566655121691972",
      "phone_number": "+16505551234",
      "username": "john.doe",
      "last_operation": {
        "type": "settings_update",
        "status": "pending",
        "requested_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:11Z",
        "settled_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:14Z",
        "results": [
          {
            "field": "subject",
            "applied": false,
            "error": {
              "description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
              "meta_error_code": "2388024"
            }
          }
        ],
        "last_error": {
          "description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
          "meta_error_code": "2388024"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "participant_count": 6,
  "pinned_messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "wam_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
      "pinned_until": "2026-09-01T09:14:52Z"
    }
  ],
  "profile_picture_url": "https://media.example.com/whatsapp/groups/JZm4S9tCkQx2.jpg",
  "last_operation": {
    "type": "settings_update",
    "status": "pending",
    "requested_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:11Z",
    "settled_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:14Z",
    "results": [
      {
        "field": "subject",
        "applied": false,
        "error": {
          "description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
          "meta_error_code": "2388024"
        }
      }
    ],
    "last_error": {
      "description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
      "meta_error_code": "2388024"
    }
  },
  "suspended_at": "2026-08-20T11:04:00Z",
  "created_at": "2026-05-20T09:14:52Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-05-25T16:42:01Z"
}

Removes one person from the group. Name them by either identifier the group's participants list them under: bsuid, which everyone has, or phone_number, which is there only when WhatsApp shares it.

Removal cannot be undone. WhatsApp blocks a removed person from joining the group by invite link, and the block follows the person rather than the link they were removed under: rotating the invite link does not let them back in. There is no add operation to pair with this one either, because WhatsApp lets nobody be added directly and people join only by opening the link. So nothing returns someone to this group once they are out, and reaching them again means creating another group and inviting them to it.

The 202 response is the removal accepted, not applied: WhatsApp can still refuse it, which arrives on the group_participants_update webhook. The outcome lands on that participant's own last_operation, pending until the webhook settles it, so removing several people at once gives each their own state and their own failure rather than one shared verdict. Re-read the group to see who is left.

A second removal of the same participant while theirs is pending returns a 409 WhatsAppGroupUpdateInProgress; removing a different participant does not. Only an active group can be changed; any other status returns a 409 WhatsAppGroupNotActive.

Parameters

group_idstring

ID of the group to remove someone from.

participant_refstring

The person to remove, named by either identifier the group lists them under: their bsuid, or their phone_number in E.164 format (+16505551234) when WhatsApp gives you one. Pass the value as it reads: percent-encode the leading + as %2B only when your client does not do that for you. A value naming someone who is not in the group returns a 422 WhatsAppGroupParticipantNotFound.

Response Payload

id
string
verplicht

Unique identifier for the group. Accepted by every /v1/whatsapp/groups/{group_id} operation, and as to when sending a message to the group.

whatsapp_number_id
string
verplicht

The business number that created the group. It is the group's admin and the number every message to the group is sent from. Fixed when the group is created.

waba
nullable string
verplicht

Meta's identifier for the WhatsApp Business Account recorded when the group was created. This is a historical snapshot, not a live account directory projection. Null for a number we operate on your behalf, whose account is not yours to see.

subject
string
verplicht

The group's name, shown to participants and to anyone who opens the invite link.

description
nullable string

The group's description, shown alongside the subject. Null when the group has none.

status
string
verplicht

Where the group stands. A group is messageable only while it is active.

join_approval_mode
string
verplicht

Whether opening the invite link joins the group outright or raises a join request to approve.

invite_link
nullable string

The link that lets someone join the group, which is the only way in. A group has one link at a time. Null while the group is pending, since WhatsApp issues the link when it confirms the group. Rotating it through POST /v1/whatsapp/groups/{group_id}/invite-link/rotate replaces it, and every link the group had before then stops working.

participants
array of object

Who is in the group, as of the last update WhatsApp sent, and the whole set rather than a page: WhatsApp holds a group to a handful of people, so there is never a page's worth to return. The business number that created the group is its admin and is not listed.

Onderliggende attributen tonen
participant_count
integer
verplicht

How many people are in the group, excluding your business.

pinned_messages
array of object

The group's pins, newest first. WhatsApp holds a few at once, and pinning past that unpins the oldest rather than refusing. No entry here is merely requested. An entry stays listed until it is unpinned, so one whose pinned_until has passed is still listed after WhatsApp has taken it off the chat.

Onderliggende attributen tonen
profile_picture_url
nullable string

Address of the group's picture, as WhatsApp serves it. Null when the group has none.

last_operation
object

The last create, settings change or delete asked of the group. pending while WhatsApp has yet to confirm it, which is what a client shows as in-progress and what refuses the next change to the group. A settings change carries per-field results, since WhatsApp can refuse one field and apply the others. A removal reports on the participant's own entry rather than here, so several can be in flight at once. Pinning is synchronous and reports nothing.

Onderliggende attributen tonen
last_operation.type
string
verplicht

What was asked.

last_operation.status
string
verplicht

Where it got to. pending is what a client shows as in-progress, and what refuses the next change.

last_operation.requested_at
string
verplicht

When Bird accepted the request.

last_operation.settled_at
nullable string

When WhatsApp reported the outcome. Null while pending.

last_operation.results
array of object

Per-field outcomes, on a settings_update that has settled. One entry per field the update carried, so a client can put a refusal next to the input it came from. Absent on every other operation type, which change one thing and report it on status.

Onderliggende attributen tonen
last_operation.last_error
object

Why the operation failed as a whole. Present when status is failed, including when the confirmation never arrived and Bird gave up waiting. A settings_update that failed on some fields and not others carries the per-field detail in results.

Onderliggende attributen tonen
suspended_at
string

When WhatsApp suspended the group. Present only while the group is suspended, and gone once WhatsApp lifts the suspension.

created_at
string
verplicht
updated_at
string
verplicht

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