Introduction

Welcome to the Legacy Group Contact Grabber guide! This feature allows you to automatically collect phone numbers from any WhatsApp group you’re a member of. Unlike the modern WA Group Contacts Extractor, this legacy method uses your phone’s accessibility features to read contact information directly from the WhatsApp app itself.

What makes this “Legacy”? This method works by watching what’s on your screen through a special phone feature called “Accessibility Service.” It reads phone numbers as you scroll through the group member list. While effective, it’s considered “legacy” because newer methods exist that work differently.

1. Before You Start

There are a few things you need to set up before you can grab contacts from WhatsApp groups.

Enabling the Special Service

The app needs a special permission called “Accessibility Service” to be able to see what’s on your WhatsApp screen.

1. Open Your Phone Settings: Find the gear icon (⚙️) on your phone.
2. Find Accessibility: Look for “Accessibility” or “Additional Settings” → “Accessibility”.
3. Find WBS or WB Sender: Look for our app in the list of installed services.
4. Turn It On: Flip the switch to enable the service.
5. Confirm Permission: A message will appear explaining what the service can do. Tap “OK” or “Allow” to confirm.

Safety Note: This permission allows the app to see what’s on your screen only when WhatsApp is open. The app only reads group member information and doesn’t access your personal messages or other apps.

Granting Contact Permission

The app may also ask for permission to access your contacts. This helps the app:

• Match phone numbers with names you already have saved.
• Avoid duplicating contacts you already know.
• Save the grabbed contacts to your phone’s contact list (optional).

When prompted, tap “Allow” to grant contact access.

2. Starting the Group Grabber

Once permissions are set up, here’s how to grab contacts from a WhatsApp group:

Step-by-Step Process

1. Open the App: Launch WBS/WB Sender on your phone.
2. Navigate to Group Grabber: Find “Legacy Group Grabber” or “Group Contact Grabber” in the menu.
3. Tap Start: The app will prepare to capture contacts.
4. Switch to WhatsApp: Open WhatsApp on your phone (either regular WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business).
5. Open a Group Chat: Navigate to any group from which you want to collect phone numbers.
6. Open Group Info: Tap on the group name at the top to see group details and the member list.
7. Scroll Slowly: Slowly scroll through the list of group members. The app reads each member’s phone number as they appear on screen.
8. Wait for Completion: A floating indicator will show you how many contacts have been collected. When you’ve scrolled through all members, the collection will finish automatically.

Pro Tip: Scroll slowly and steadily! If you scroll too fast, some contacts might be missed because the screen changes before the app can read them.

3. Reviewing Collected Contacts

After the grabbing process completes, you’ll automatically be taken to a review screen where you can see all the contacts that were collected.

What You’ll See

• Group Name: The name of the WhatsApp group appears at the top (e.g., “Contacts from: Family Group”).
• Contact List: Each collected member is shown with their name and phone number.
• Checkboxes: Every contact has a checkbox – checked means it will be saved.
• Select All / Unselect All: Use the header checkbox to quickly select or deselect everyone.

Understanding Contact Names

Contacts may appear with different types of names:

• Saved Contact Name: If the person is already in your phone contacts, their saved name will show.
• WhatsApp Profile Name: If you don’t have them saved, their WhatsApp name is used.
• Auto-Generated Name: For members without a visible name, the app creates one like “GroupName_1”, “GroupName_2”, etc.

Selecting Which Contacts to Keep

• Keep All: By default, all collected contacts are selected. Simply proceed to save.
• Remove Specific People: Uncheck the box next to anyone you don’t want to save.
• Start Fresh: Uncheck the “Select All” header box, then individually select only those you want.

4. Editing Contacts

Before saving, you can make changes to individual contacts.

Adding Contacts Manually

Did the grabber miss someone? You can add them manually:

1. Tap the floating “+” button (bottom right corner).
2. A menu option will appear: “Add More Contacts”.
3. Tap it to open a form where you can enter a name and phone number.
4. Fill in the details and tap “Save”.
5. The new contact appears in your list.

Deleting Unwanted Contacts

Need to remove multiple contacts at once?

1. Select the Contacts: Check the boxes next to contacts you want to remove.
2. Tap “Delete Selected”: Press the red delete button at the top of the screen.
3. Confirm: A confirmation popup will appear. Tap “OK” to delete.

Warning: Deleted contacts cannot be recovered! You would need to run the grabber again if you accidentally delete needed contacts.

5. Saving Contacts as a Campaign

A “Campaign” is a saved list of contacts that you can use later for sending bulk messages.

Premium Feature: Saving contacts requires a Premium subscription. Free users can view grabbed contacts but cannot save them as campaigns.

How to Save

1. Review Your Selection: Make sure all the contacts you want are checked.
2. Tap “Save As…”: Press the purple/accent-colored save button at the top.
3. Name Your Campaign: A popup appears with the group name pre-filled. You can change it to anything you like (e.g., “Gym Buddies”, “Project Team”, etc.).
4. Check the Count: The popup shows exactly how many contacts will be saved.
5. Tap “Save”: Wait while your contacts are being saved.

Progress Indicator

While saving, you’ll see a progress bar showing:

• Current step: “Getting group ID…” then “Saving contacts…”
• Progress percentage: How close to completion.

After Saving Successfully

Once saved, a success message appears with two choices:

• “Start Sending Messages”: Takes you directly to the message sending screen to use your new contact list immediately.
• “Manage Campaign”: Takes you to the campaign management area where you can view, edit, or send later.

6. Status Indicators

During the grabbing process, you may see various indicators:

Floating Popup (During Collection)

• Contact Count: Shows how many phone numbers have been captured so far.
• Status Messages: May show “Scrolling…”, “Processing…”, or “Completing…”

Progress Card (On Review Screen)

• Loading Spinner: Appears briefly when processing grabbed contacts.
• Hidden when ready: Disappears once all contacts are displayed in the list.

7. Troubleshooting

No Contacts Captured

• Check Accessibility Service: Make sure the app’s accessibility service is enabled in phone settings.
• Restart the Service: Try turning the accessibility service off and on again.
• Scroll Slower: If you scrolled too fast, try again more slowly.
• Ensure Group Info is Visible: You must be on the group info screen (where members are listed), not just in the chat.

Some Contacts Missing

• Scroll All the Way: Make sure you scrolled through the ENTIRE member list, from top to bottom.
• Scroll Steadily: Avoid jumping or flicking – use smooth, slow scrolling.
• Try Again: Sometimes network delays cause issues. Retry the process.
• Add Manually: Use the “+” button to add any missing contacts by hand.

App Crashes or Freezes

• Clear App Cache: Go to phone Settings → Apps → WBS/WB Sender → Clear Cache.
• Restart Your Phone: A simple restart can fix many issues.
• Update the App: Make sure you have the latest version from the Play Store.

Permission Issues

• “Contacts Permission Denied”: Go to phone Settings → Apps → WBS/WB Sender → Permissions → Enable Contacts.
• Accessibility Service Keeps Turning Off: Some phones have battery optimization that disables accessibility services. Exclude the app from battery optimization in settings.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is my WhatsApp account safe when using this feature?

A: Yes! This feature only reads publicly visible information from group member lists. It doesn’t log into WhatsApp or change anything – it simply reads what’s already on your screen.

Q: Will group members know I grabbed their numbers?

A: No. The process is completely invisible to other users. There are no notifications sent to anyone.

Q: What’s the difference between this and the “WA Group Contacts Extractor”?

A: The Legacy Group Grabber (this feature) uses accessibility services to read your screen. The newer WA Group Contacts Extractor uses WhatsApp Web linking technology. Both achieve the same result – grabbing group contacts – but work in different ways.

Q: Can I grab from WhatsApp Business groups?

A: Yes! The grabber works with both regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.

Q: What if someone in the group has a hidden phone number?

A: If someone has hidden their phone number in WhatsApp privacy settings, it won’t be visible in the group member list and therefore can’t be captured.

Q: Is there a limit to how many contacts I can grab?

A: There’s no set limit. You can grab contacts from groups with hundreds of members. Just scroll through the entire list patiently.

Q: Why does it ask for “Overlay” permission?

A: The overlay permission allows the app to show you the floating progress indicator while you’re scrolling through WhatsApp. It helps you see how many contacts have been captured without switching apps.