What are event chats?
Event chats give organizers and attendees a dedicated place to communicate before, during, and shortly after an event. They make it easy for organizers to post updates, answer questions, and build community while allowing attendees to connect before meeting in person.
Meetup supports two ways to chat for your events:
- Built-in Meetup chats: A native group conversation created automatically inside Meetup. Confirmed attendees are added as soon as they RSVP "Going".
- Third-party chat channels: Organizers can link their existing external chat (such as WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, Signal, or Facebook Groups) directly to the event.
Event chats vs. direct and group messages: An event chat is created automatically for an event and includes all confirmed attendees. Direct and group messages are personal conversations started manually between members.
Event chats are available across the web, iOS, and Android.
Joining and participating in an event chat
- Automatic access upon RSVP: When you RSVP "Going" to an event with a chat enabled:
- Built-in Meetup Chat: You are automatically added to the group conversation. An "Open event chat" button will appear on the RSVP confirmation screen.
- Third-Party Chat (WhatsApp, Discord, etc.): A prompt will display the organizer's group invite link with a one-click "Join group chat" button and a copy link option.
- Waitlist handling: If you are placed on a waitlist, chat access is granted automatically as soon as a spot opens and your RSVP is confirmed.
- Changing your RSVP: If you change your RSVP to "Not Going", you will no longer be able to send new messages in the built-in Meetup chat (you can still read earlier messages). For third-party platforms, invite links are only displayed to confirmed attendees.
- Accessing your chat: For built-in Meetup chats, you can access the conversation through the Messages page or the Messages tab on the event page while the chat remains open.
- Leaving a chat: You can leave a built-in Meetup event chat at any time on the web, iOS, and Android.
Managing your messages and chat participation
You can edit or delete messages you've sent in a built-in Meetup event chat on the web, iOS, and Android.
When event chats close
Built-in Meetup event chats close automatically:
- Immediately when the event is canceled.
- 24 hours after the event ends.
If an event is deleted, its built-in chat is removed entirely.
Chats for events that had already ended by the time this feature was introduced will remain open.
Event comments
Organizers can disable comments for individual events.
Notifications and preferences
For built-in Meetup chats, you receive mobile push notifications whenever someone posts in an event chat you belong to. You can mute notifications at any time through the conversation settings menu.
Note: For external chats (such as WhatsApp or Discord), notification settings and delivery are managed directly within that third-party app.
Safety and moderation
Built-in Meetup chats are governed by Meetup's Community Guidelines. If you encounter spam, harassment, or inappropriate conduct, you can block or report members directly inside the chat interface. Organizers can delete messages or remove members from their event chats. Deleted messages are labeled “deleted by the organizer,” and removed members can no longer view or post in the conversation.
When joining third-party platforms like WhatsApp or Discord, interactions are subject to those platforms' policies and moderation controls.
Sharing feedback about event chats
Use the Feedback button inside the event chat to tell the Meetup team what you think about event chats. This feedback goes to Meetup only — organizers won’t see it. To reach your organizer, post in the event chat instead.