Pinned group messages no longer have to expire after 30 days. Here are the steps on iPhone, Android and desktop, plus the admin setting that decides who can pin.
WhatsApp has dropped the timer on pinned group messages. Before, a pin lasted 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days and then disappeared. Now the pin menu offers a choice with no expiry, so a key address, rota or password can stay at the top of a group until someone removes it.
The change is rolling out slowly on Android and iPhone, so update the app and expect a wait of up to a few weeks. It arrived alongside Group Status, a filter for mentions and replies, and a way to send recent history to someone who has already joined a group.
If you want to know how to pin a WhatsApp message permanently, the short answer is that you finally can, at least in group chats. WhatsApp’s latest update adds a no-expiry choice to the pin menu, so the school pickup rota, the Wi-Fi password or the wedding venue address can sit at the top of a group for as long as you like.
Until now, every pin came with a timer. You picked 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days, and when the clock ran out the banner vanished and someone had to pin it again. The new option ends that chore, but it is rolling out in stages, and in groups an admin setting decides whether you can pin anything at all. Here is how it works, and what to check if the option isn’t there yet.
To pin a message permanently, you use the same pin menu as before and choose the option without an end date. The steps differ slightly between phones.
On Android:
On iPhone:
WhatsApp hasn’t published the exact wording of the new choice, and app labels sometimes differ by language, so look for the entry that isn’t 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days. If you only see those three, the update hasn’t reached your phone yet (more on that below).
On a computer, hover over the message, click the small down arrow in its corner and choose the pin entry, then pick a duration. WhatsApp’s announcement talked about Android and iPhone, so the permanent option may show up on the web and desktop apps later than on your phone. If you don’t see it there yet, set the permanent pin from your phone instead.
In a group, the admins decide who can pin. They can let every member pin messages, or keep that power for admins only. That choice matters more now that pins can stay up forever: in a big group, one stray permanent pin from a member can push the useful ones aside.
If you’re an admin, you’ll find the control in the group’s own settings. Open the group, tap its name to reach the info screen, go into Group settings and look at the permission that covers editing group settings. Turning it to admins only also limits who can pin. On a computer the same control lives under the group info panel.
Everyone in the group gets a small system note when a message is pinned, showing who pinned it. So if a pin suddenly appears, you can see who to ask about it.
A WhatsApp chat holds up to three pinned messages at once. When there is more than one, the banner shows the newest pin first, and tapping the banner cycles through the others. Pins work on more than plain text: photos and polls can be pinned too, which is handy for a group vote you want everyone to see.
Unpinning is the same process in reverse:
Two catches are worth knowing. People who join a group after a message was pinned don’t see that pin, and neither does anyone who cleared their chat history or deleted the message on their own phone before it was pinned. So a permanent pin isn’t a true group noticeboard for newcomers. If you need something private and long-lasting just for yourself, starring the message is still the better tool, because stars only show up for you.
The most likely reason is timing. WhatsApp is switching these features on for Android and iPhone users gradually, and some people may wait a few weeks. There’s no button to force it, but you can make sure you’re ready:
Until it arrives, the workaround is the old one: pin for 30 days and set a phone reminder to pin again before it lapses.
Permanent pins came as one of four changes WhatsApp announced last week, all aimed at groups that pile up hundreds of messages in a few hours.
Separately, WhatsApp is testing smarter actions on long-press. Hold a message containing an email address, phone number, street address or meeting time, and the app offers a matching shortcut, such as starting an email, saving a contact or adding a calendar entry. That one is also appearing for only some users so far.
Put together, the changes make a practical setup for a busy family or club group: one permanent pin with the standing rules or address, a timed pin for this week’s plan, the mentions filter so you only open the chats that need you, and catch-up history for anyone added late, since they won’t see earlier pins on their own.
Yes, in group chats, once the latest update reaches your phone. Choose the no-expiry option in the pin menu instead of 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
Up to three per chat. Tap the banner at the top to move between them.
Either the group’s admins have limited pinning to admins only, or your app hasn’t received the new option yet. Update WhatsApp and ask an admin to check the group settings.
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