Whether you’re leaving the group for good, or just changing who else gets to be in charge, we’re here to show you how to change the group admin in your WhatsApp groups.
If you’d like any additional information, or if you have any other questions, please direct your attention to our FAQ section at the end of this article. Otherwise, keep reading!
Remember: In order to change admin privileges in a WhatsApp group, you have to be an admin in the first place. Regular group participants cannot change group admins.
Note: You can change admins on a PC or on a mobile or tablet, the tutorials below give general instruction, which should apply to all devices.
Table of Contents
How to add/remove a group admin in a WhatsApp group
- Open the WhatsApp app on your device and sign into your account if prompted
- Locate a group in the sidebar/homepage for which you are already an admin, and open it by tapping/clicking on it
- Next, open the group settings by tapping/clicking on the group’s name and members list at the top of the chat window
- Scroll down to the bottom of the settings page and you should find the list of participants, including yourself, with a green ‘Group Admin’ badge next to you and any other people you’ve made admin
- To add another admin, tap and hold the name of the person you wish to give these privileges (or click the arrow to the right of their name) and from the drop-down menu select ‘Make group admin’
- To remove another admin, tap and hold the name of the admin whose privileges ou wish to remove (or click the arrow to the right of their name), and from the drop-down menu select ‘Dismiss as admin’
- To add another admin, tap and hold the name of the person you wish to give these privileges (or click the arrow to the right of their name) and from the drop-down menu select ‘Make group admin’
How to change group admin from yourself to another person in a WhatsApp group
- Open the WhatsApp app on your device and sign into your account if prompted
- Locate a group in the sidebar/homepage for which you are already an admin, and open it by tapping/clicking on it
- Next, open the group settings by tapping/clicking on the group’s name and members list at the top of the chat window
- Scroll down to the bottom of the settings page and you should find the list of participants, including yourself, with a green ‘Group Admin’ badge next to you and any other people you’ve made admin
- First, add a new admin by tapping and holding the name of the person who you’ve chosen to be the new admin (or clicking the arrow to the right of their name), and choosing ‘Make group admin’ from the drop-down menu
- Next, exit the group (this is the only way to remove yourself as ‘Super Admin’ of a group you’ve created) – tap/click ‘Exit group’ at the bottom of the page and follow any on-screen instructions to complete the process
- Lastly, ask the person you just made the new group admin to re-add you to the group, but this time just as a participant
- First, add a new admin by tapping and holding the name of the person who you’ve chosen to be the new admin (or clicking the arrow to the right of their name), and choosing ‘Make group admin’ from the drop-down menu
- You have successfully changed the group admin from yourself to just one other person
And there you have it! Whether you’re looking to share the admin privileges with other people, remove an admin from the group, or completely change who the group admin is, you can do it all just by following our easy step-by-step instructions above.
For any additional information, or if you have any other questions, please see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
What role does the Group Admin play in WhatsApp?
When a group is created in the globally popular messaging app WhatsApp, the creator is instated as ‘Group Admin’. An admin on WhatsApp has a few rights and privileges which none of the other additional members of the group do. Only the group admin is afforded the ability to add and remove participants from the group, change the group’s name, profile picture, and various settings.
In other words, the group admin in WhatsApp groups is the leader of the group, all other members of the group are simply participants, who can message back and forth as much as they like but cannot alter the settings or appearance of the group.
The original creator of any group is technically a ‘Super Admin’, meaning that they cannot be removed from that position by anyone other than themselves, whereas they can choose to remove admin privileges from other admins in the group (since it was they who gave out those admin privileges in the first place).
Why would I need or want to change the Group Admin in WhatsApp?
There is a number of reasons why you might want to change the group admin in WhatsApp. Perhaps the most obvious cause would be one in which you no longer wanted the responsibility of running a group (maybe you’re leaving it for good, or you’ve not got the time on your hands anymore), and you want to place someone else in charge before you leave.
Of course, it could also be the case that you’d simply like to add additional admins to the group so as to lighten a load of responsibility on your shoulders. Whatever your reason for wishing to change the group admin on a WhatsApp group, we’re here to help you.
Can I change the Group Admin back if I make a mistake?
This depends. Only an admin can add another admin to the group, and so, provided you still have your own admin rights, then the answer is yes. In such a case, if you’ve transferred the admin rights of one group member to another, but still hold ‘Super Admin’ rights yourself, you can undo this change.
However, if you’ve transferred admin status from yourself to another group member, lowering yourself to the role of a group participant, then you cannot undo this action. Only a group admin can reinstate your admin privileges (though note, you will never be able to re-attain ‘Super Admin’ status). Thus, you will have to kindly ask the new group admin to reinstate you as admin, if you feel you have made a mistake.
Who can change the Group Admin of a WhatsApp group?
If you’ve not clocked already, only an admin can alter admin privileges in a WhatsApp group – no one else. If you are just an additional member of a group, and did not create it or have not been made an admin by one of the creators, then you cannot change admin privileges in this group. To do so, you will first have to ask one of the admins to make you another admin.
