You can start a group chat on iPhone just like you’d start a regular text.
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To make a group chat on iPhone, add multiple recipients to the address line of a new message.
Once a group chat is created, you can add members or edit the name.
There’s three types of group messages: group iMessage, group MMS, and group SMS.
Group chats can be a useful tool in both your professional and personal life. Whether you’re planning a happy hour, surprise baby shower, or you want to text hilarious memes to your besties, a group chat is a great way to relay information to multiple people at once.
Depending on the settings and types of phones people have, group chats will look different and have different capabilities. And if a group chat is getting to be too much, you can silence notifications or leave a group chat entirely. Here’s how to do it all on an iPhone.
Types of group chats on iPhone
There are three types of group chats you can create or participate in on an iPhone:
Group iMessage. Everyone is using an Apple device, has iMessage turned on, and texts appear blue. All iMessage features are available — multimedia attachments, message effects, location sharing, group naming — and anyone can add or remove group members. Group MMS. At least one person isn’t using iMessage or an Apple device, and texts appear green. Though most iMessage features aren’t available, everyone can send and receive multimedia attachments and see all messages in the group chat.Group SMS. At least one person has both iMessage and MMS turned off, and they will send and receive messages outside of the group. They can’t send multimedia attachments or see the responses in the group chat.
How to make a group chat on iPhone
Make sure you have both iMessage and MMS turned on in Settings > Messages.
1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone. It looks like a white chat bubble inside a green box.
2. Tap the Compose button in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Begin entering the names of the people you want to include in the group chat in the To: section. You can also tap the plus + button to select people from your contacts.
Start a group chat by entering two or more names into the address bar.
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Quick tip: When you add recipients to a new group chat, if one member of the group does not have an iPhone, the header above your recipient list will read New Group MMS. If everyone in the group has an iPhone the header above your recipient list will say New iMessage.
4. Type out your message, then tap the Send icon. It looks like an arrow pointing up.
When you’re ready to send your message, tap the blue arrow.
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How to add members to a group chat
New roommate? Coworker? Add them to your group chat with just a few steps. However, this only works on iMessage group chats, if everyone in the group has an iPhone.
1. Open the Messages app and navigate to the group chat you want to add someone to. Tap the names at the top of the group chat.
2. Tap the arrow next to the names of the people in the group chat to open a drop-down menu. Then, tap Add Contact.
Open the drop-down menu to see the names of all the people in the group chat, and to add more people.
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Quick tip: You can name a group chat and assign it a photo on this page. Changing the group chat name to something specific based on the people in it can make it easier to find when you need to check or send a message. You can choose things like “Roommate Chat”, “Family”, or you can even add a photo icon to further customize the group chat.
4. Type in the name of the person you want to add, then tap Done.
How to silence notifications from a group chat
1. Open the Messages app and navigate to the group chat you want to silence notifications for. Tap the names at the top of the group chat.
2. Scroll down to Hide Alerts, then tap the toggle on the right to silence notifications. It will turn green when on.
The toggle will turn green when notifications are silenced.
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Quick tip: If you’ve been added to a spam group chat, you can block, mute, or leave spam group texts.
How to leave a group chat
1. Open the Messages app and navigate to the group chat you want to leave. Tap the names at the top of the group chat.
2. Tap Leave this Conversation. Then, tap Leave this Conversation again in the pop-up to confirm your choice.
If you accidentally tap “Leave this Conversation,” tap “Cancel” to remain in the group chat.
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Quick tip: For more information about which group chats you can leave or mute, check out our article on how to remove yourself from a group text.