Creating a group chat takes three taps

Open Snapchat and tap the chat icon at the bottom left. Press the compose button (the pencil and paper icon) in the top right corner. Select the friends you want to add — you can pick as many as you want — then tap "Create" at the bottom. The group appears in your chat list when ready, and everyone you added gets a notification that they've been added to the group.

You don't need anyone's permission to start a group. Snapchat creates it as soon as you hit Create, and the other people in it will see it whether they want to be there or not. If you add someone by mistake, you can remove them later by opening the group, tapping their name, and selecting "Remove from Group".

Group chats work the same way as one-on-one chats — you can send text, photos, videos, voice messages, and stickers. Everyone in the group sees what you send. There's no way to send a message to just one person inside a group chat; if you need privacy, you have to start a separate one-on-one conversation.

Key Takeaways

  • You create a group by opening the chat tab, tapping compose, selecting multiple friends, and tapping Create.
  • Everyone you add to a group sees all messages sent after they join, but not messages sent before.
  • You can remove people from a group at any time by tapping their name and selecting Remove from Group.
  • Snapchat stores group messages on its servers, and the people in the group can see who is in it and when you were last active.
  • If you delete a group, the chat disappears from your list but the other members still see it in theirs.

What information is visible to other group members

Everyone in a group can see your username, display name, and profile picture. They can also see when you were last active in Snapchat — the app shows a timestamp next to your name that updates whenever you open the app. If you have location sharing turned on, group members who are your friends can see your location on the Snap Map, though this is a separate setting from the group chat itself.

Group members can see when you've read their messages. Snapchat shows a small icon next to each message indicating whether it's been opened. They can also see if you've taken a screenshot of their message or photo, because Snapchat sends a notification to the sender when that happens.

Your typing status is visible too — other people see a small indicator when you're actively typing a message. This means they know you're about to send something, even if you delete it before hitting send.

How Snapchat stores and keeps group messages

Snapchat keeps group messages on its servers indefinitely unless you delete them yourself. When you send a text message in a group, it stays there until you tap and hold it, then select "Delete" — but only you see that it's been deleted. The other people in the group still see the message on their end.

Photos and videos in groups work differently. By default, Snapchat deletes them after they've been viewed, but only if the recipient opens them within the app. If someone takes a screenshot or saves the image before it disappears, they keep a copy. You get a notification that they've screenshotted, but the image is already saved to their phone.

Snapchat's servers retain metadata about every message — who sent it, when, and to whom. This information is kept for law enforcement requests and for Snapchat's own analytics. The company's privacy policy states that it may keep this data longer than the messages themselves.

Removing people from a group or leaving yourself

To remove someone from a group, open the group chat, tap their name at the top, and select "Remove from Group." They'll no longer see new messages, but they can still see the entire conversation history from before they were removed. There's no notification that tells them they've been removed — they'll only notice when they try to send a message and can't.

If you want to leave a group yourself, open it and tap the group name at the top. Scroll down and select "Leave Group." You'll disappear from the member list, and new messages won't come to you, but you can still see all the old messages in your chat history. The other members will see that you've left.

If you delete a group from your chat list, it only disappears from your view. Everyone else still has the group, and if they send a message, it will reappear in your chat list. There's no way to permanently delete a group for everyone in it.

Naming a group and changing its settings

You can give a group a custom name instead of letting Snapchat list it as "Group with [names]." Open the group, tap the group name at the top, then tap "Edit Group Name." Type the name you want and tap "Save." Everyone in the group sees the new name when ready.

You can also add or remove people after the group is created. Tap the group name, then tap the plus icon to add friends or tap an existing member's name to remove them. There's no limit to how many people you can add, though groups with many members can become hard to follow.

Snapchat doesn't have a way to mute notifications from a specific group or to set different privacy rules for different groups. If a group is too noisy, your only options are to leave it or to turn off notifications for the entire Snapchat app.

What happens if someone screenshots or records a group message

Snapchat notifies you when someone takes a screenshot of a message or photo you sent in a group. You'll see a small notification that says "[Name] took a screenshot" or "[Name] recorded a video." However, this notification only tells you that a screenshot happened — it doesn't prevent the person from keeping the image.

Once someone has a screenshot, they can share it anywhere. Snapchat has no way to track what happens to it after that, and there's nothing you can do to remove it. This is why sensitive information — passwords, personal details, embarrassing photos — should never be sent in a group chat, even if you trust the people in it.

Recording a group video call is different from screenshotting a message. If someone records a video call using their phone's screen recording tool, Snapchat will notify you that they've recorded, but again, you can't prevent them from keeping the file or sharing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see if someone read my message in a group?

Yes. Snapchat shows a small icon next to each message indicating whether it's been opened. You can see which group members have read what you sent and when they opened it. This applies to text messages, photos, and videos.

What happens to a group chat if I block someone in it?

If you block someone who's in a group with you, they can still see and send messages in the group. Blocking only affects one-on-one conversations and prevents them from seeing your story or location. To stop seeing their messages, you have to remove them from the group or leave it yourself.

Can I make a group chat private so only certain people can see it?

No. Group chats are visible to everyone you add to them, and there's no privacy setting to restrict who can see the conversation. If you need a truly private conversation, use a one-on-one chat instead.

Do group members see my location if I'm in a group chat with them?

Only if you have location sharing turned on in Snapchat and those people are your friends. Location sharing is separate from group chat — it's controlled in your privacy settings. Being in a group chat doesn't automatically share your location.

What if I accidentally delete a group message?

When you delete a message, only you see that it's gone. Everyone else in the group still sees it on their screen. There's no way to remove a message from everyone's view once it's been sent.