How-To Guideintermediate10 minutes

How to Set Up WhatsApp Group Moderation

Configure anti-delete, welcome messages, warnings, and admin commands for your WhatsApp group.

Group moderation on WhatsApp is normally a manual nightmare, admins delete messages by hand, warn people in DMs, and chase rule-breakers across multiple chats. BotWave automates the whole loop: anti-spam, anti-link, anti-flood, warning ladders, auto-kick, profanity filter, and a publicly visible mod log so the rest of the group can see fairness in action.

Prerequisites

  • BotWave session connected and added to the group as admin.
  • A clear sense of the rules you want enforced (e.g. no links from non-admins, max 5 messages per 10s, no profanity).
  • Optional: a pinned !rules message so members know what is being enforced.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    Enable anti-spam

    In a chat: `!antispam on`. Or in dashboard: Groups → click the group → Moderation → Anti-spam → ON. Set the threshold (default: 5 messages in 10 seconds = warning).

    !antispam on
  2. 2

    Configure the warning ladder

    From Dashboard → Moderation → Warnings, set how many warnings a member can accumulate before auto-kick (default: 3). Warnings expire after 30 days by default so honest mistakes do not haunt members forever.

  3. 3

    Enable anti-link

    Send `!antilink on` in the group. The bot deletes any external link posted by non-admins. Allowlist domains you trust (e.g. your own website) from Dashboard → Moderation → Anti-link → Allowlist.

    !antilink on
  4. 4

    Set up the profanity filter (optional)

    From Dashboard → Moderation → Profanity, pick a built-in word list (mild / strict / strict + slurs) or paste your own custom list. The filter is localised, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba slang variants are supported in addition to English.

  5. 5

    Publish the rules

    Run !setrules in the group with the rules text, then !rules pin. New members will be auto-greeted with a link to the rules.

    !setrules
1. No spam.
2. No off-topic links.
3. Be respectful.
  6. 6

    Check the mod log

    Send !modlog in the group to see the last 20 moderation actions (warnings, deletes, kicks). The full log lives in Dashboard → Groups → click the group → Mod log.

    !modlog

Expected result

Spam messages disappear within seconds, repeat offenders escalate through warnings to auto-kick automatically, and the mod log gives the group a transparent record of every moderation action.

Power-user tips

  • Combine anti-link with a "first-time poster" delay, new members get their first message held for review for 1 hour before posting freely.
  • Customise the warning message per group: a school group might want "Hi {name}, please respect class rules"; a crypto group might want a stricter tone.
  • Use !whitelist @user to exempt a specific member from spam/link rules (great for co-admins who post a lot of legitimate links).

Common pitfalls

  • Profanity filter false-positives are common in multilingual groups, start with the "mild" list and add words yourself rather than starting on "strict".
  • If the bot is not an admin, anti-spam can detect spam but cannot delete it.

Frequently asked questions

Does the bot need admin to delete spam?

Yes. WhatsApp's permission model only allows admins to delete other members' messages. Without admin rights the bot can still issue warnings privately, but the offending message stays in chat.

How does anti-flood differ from anti-spam?

Anti-spam looks at message count over time (e.g. 5 in 10s = spam). Anti-flood looks at repeated identical or near-identical content (e.g. the same message posted 3 times in a row). They are complementary and both ON by default once moderation is enabled.

Can members appeal a kick?

Yes. By default the bot posts a "you were kicked, reply !appeal" message in DM with the user. Admins see appeals in Dashboard → Moderation → Appeals and can approve a re-add with one click.

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