What a contact group is and why you'd use one

A contact group is a folder inside the Contacts app that holds multiple people's names and phone numbers together. Instead of texting or calling each person one at a time, you can send a message or email to the whole group at once. iPhone calls this feature a "group".

The most common reason to make a group is to message or email the same set of people regularly — your book club, your work team, your family, or friends you always invite to the same events. You create the group once, add people to it, and then use it over and over.

Groups live only in your Contacts app. They do not show up as a separate app on your home screen, and they do not sync to iMessage or other messaging apps automatically. You have to open Contacts, find the group, and then choose to message or email from there.

Key Takeaways

  • Contact groups are created inside the Contacts app by tapping Edit, then the plus sign, then New Group.
  • After you name the group, you add people by tapping Add Contact and selecting names from your existing contacts.
  • You can send a message or email to everyone in the group at once by opening the group and tapping the message or email icon.
  • Groups only work within the Contacts app — they do not automatically appear in Messages or Mail.
  • If you delete a contact from a group, the contact itself stays in your phone; only the group membership is removed.

How to create a new group step by step

Open the Contacts app on your home screen. At the bottom of the screen, tap Groups. In the top left corner, tap Edit.

In the top right corner, tap the plus sign (+). A box will appear asking you to name the group. Type the name you want — for example, "Book Club" or "Work Team" — and tap Save. The group now exists, but it is empty.

To add people, tap the group name to open it. Tap Edit in the top right, then tap Add Contact. A list of all your contacts will appear. Tap each person you want to add. A checkmark will appear next to their name. When you are done selecting, tap Save in the top right corner.

Adding and removing people from a group

You can add more people to a group anytime. Open the group, tap Edit, tap Add Contact, select the new people, and tap Save. You can add as many people as you want.

To remove someone from a group, open the group, tap Edit, then tap the red minus sign next to the person's name. Tap Delete to confirm. The person stays in your Contacts app — they are only removed from this group.

If you delete a contact from your phone entirely, that person automatically disappears from all groups they were in. You do not have to remove them from each group separately.

Sending a message or email to the whole group

Open the Contacts app and tap Groups at the bottom. Find the group you want to message or email. Tap the group name to open it.

At the top of the group, you will see icons for message, email, and FaceTime. Tap the message icon (speech bubble) to send a text to everyone in the group, or tap the email icon (envelope) to send an email. Your Messages or Mail app will open with all the group members already added as recipients.

Type your message or email and send it the way you normally would. Everyone in the group will receive it separately — it is not a group chat where they can see each other's replies.

Why groups do not appear in Messages or Mail

When you create a group in Contacts, it only lives there. The Messages app and Mail app do not automatically see your groups. This is why you have to open Contacts first, find the group, and then tap the message or email icon.

Some people expect groups to show up in Messages the way they do on Android phones or in other apps. They do not. If you want to message the same people often, you have two choices: open Contacts and use the group each time, or create a separate group chat in Messages and add people there instead. A Messages group chat is different from a Contacts group — it is a conversation thread where everyone can see replies and have a back-and-forth discussion.

Deleting a group you no longer need

Open Contacts and tap Groups at the bottom. Tap Edit in the top left. Find the group you want to delete and tap the red minus sign next to it. Tap Delete to confirm.

When you delete a group, all the people in it stay in your Contacts app. Only the group folder is removed. If you recreate the group later, you will have to add those people again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a group chat in Messages using a Contacts group?

No. A Contacts group and a Messages group chat are separate things. To create a group chat in Messages, open the app, tap the compose button, and add people manually. You cannot import a Contacts group into Messages.

What happens if someone in my group changes their phone number?

If you update that person's contact information in Contacts, the group automatically uses the new number the next time you message or email the group. You do not have to edit the group itself.

Can I see which groups a person belongs to?

Not directly. You have to open each group individually to see who is in it. iPhone does not show you a list of all groups a single contact belongs to.

Do groups sync across my devices?

Yes, if you use iCloud to sync your contacts. Groups created on your iPhone will appear on your iPad and Mac if they are all signed into the same iCloud account. If you do not use iCloud, groups only stay on the device where you created them.

Can I rename a group after I create it?

Yes. Open Contacts, tap Groups, tap Edit, then tap the group name. A text box will appear where you can type the new name. Tap Save when you are done.