What group texting is and how to start one

A group text message is a single conversation where you send one message to multiple people at once, and everyone in the group can see each other's replies. On iPhone, you create a group text by opening the Messages app, tapping the compose button (the pencil-and-paper icon), typing or pasting multiple phone numbers or contact names into the "To:" field, and then typing your message. When you send it, all those people receive it as part of the same conversation thread, not as separate individual messages.

The key difference from sending the same message to five people separately is that in a group text, everyone knows who else is in the conversation and can see what everyone else wrote. This makes group texts useful for coordinating plans with friends, keeping a family updated, or running a quick poll among a team.

Group texts work on any iPhone model running iOS 5 or later, which covers every iPhone still in regular use. The feature is built into the Messages app — you do not need to read anything or pay extra.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Messages, tap the compose button, and add multiple contacts to the "To:" field to create a group text that everyone can see and reply to together.
  • You can name a group text by opening it, tapping "Details" at the top right, and typing a name under "Group Name" — this name appears only on iPhones, not on Android phones in the group.
  • Muting a group text stops notifications without leaving the conversation, which is useful when a group becomes very active.
  • If a group text includes Android phones, it may switch to MMS (multimedia messaging) and lose some iPhone features like read receipts and typing indicators.
  • You can remove yourself from a group text by opening it, tapping "Details," scrolling down, and tapping "Leave this Conversation."

Creating a group text from scratch

Open the Messages app on your home screen. In the bottom right corner, tap the pencil-and-paper icon to start a new message. This opens a blank compose screen with a "To:" field at the top.

Type the first person's name or phone number into the "To:" field. As you type, your contacts appear below — tap the person's name to add them. After you add the first person, the field stays active. Type the second person's name or number and tap to add them. Repeat until everyone you want is in the group. You can add up to 100 people, though groups larger than 10 or 15 often become hard to follow.

Once all names are in the "To:" field, tap in the message box at the bottom and type what you want to send. Tap the blue send arrow. The message goes to everyone at once, and their replies come back to the same conversation thread where you can all see them.

Naming a group text so everyone knows what it is

By default, a group text shows the names of everyone in it at the top of the conversation. If the group is large or the names are long, this gets crowded. You can give the group a custom name instead.

Open the group text conversation. Tap "Details" in the top right corner (it looks like an "i" in a circle). Scroll down until you see "Group Name" with an empty field below it. Tap the field and type a name — "Beach Trip Planning," "Work Lunch Crew," or whatever makes sense for your group. Tap "Done" in the top right. The new name now appears at the top of the conversation on your phone.

Important: group names only show up on iPhones. If anyone in the group uses an Android phone, they will still see the list of names instead of your custom group name. This does not affect the conversation itself — everyone still gets all the messages.

Adding or removing people from an active group text

Open the group text. Tap "Details" in the top right. You will see a list of everyone in the group with their contact photos or initials.

To add someone new, tap the "+" icon in the top left of the Details screen. Type the person's name or number and tap to add them. They will see all future messages in the group, but they will not see messages sent before they joined.

To remove someone, tap "Edit" in the top left, then tap the red minus sign next to their name, and tap "Remove." That person will no longer receive messages from the group. They will see a notification that they were removed, but they cannot see messages sent after that point.

You cannot remove yourself from a group text using the Edit button — you can only leave the conversation entirely (see the section below). If you are the person who started the group, you have the same power to remove others as anyone else in the group does.

Muting notifications without leaving the group

When a group text becomes very active — lots of quick back-and-forth messages — your phone may buzz constantly with notifications. You can silence these without leaving the conversation or missing messages.

Open the group text. Swipe left on the conversation in your Messages list (or tap and hold it, then tap "Mute"). A speaker-with-a-line icon appears next to the group name. You will no longer get notifications when new messages arrive, but the messages still come through and sit in the conversation waiting for you to read them when you open Messages.

To unmute, swipe left again (or tap and hold, then tap "Unmute"). Notifications will resume. Muting is temporary — it stays in effect until you unmute, even if you close and reopen the Messages app.

What happens when Android phones join the group

If you add someone with an Android phone to an iPhone group text, the conversation may change behavior. iMessage — Apple's messaging system that works between iPhones — cannot reach Android phones, so the group automatically switches to MMS (multimedia messaging service), which works across all phone types.

When this happens, you may notice that read receipts (the "Delivered" and "Read" indicators) stop working, and typing indicators (the three dots that show someone is typing) disappear. Group names still work on your iPhone, but the Android user will not see the name. Photos and videos may take longer to send or arrive in lower quality. The conversation still works — everyone still gets all the messages — but some of the iPhone-specific features turn off.

This is not a problem you can fix. It is how messaging works across different phone types. If keeping all iPhone features is important for your group, you would need everyone to use iPhones.

Leaving a group text entirely

If you want to stop receiving messages from a group text and remove yourself completely, open the group conversation. Tap "Details" in the top right. Scroll to the bottom and tap "Leave this Conversation" in red text. Tap "Leave" to confirm. You will no longer receive any messages from that group, and the conversation will disappear from your Messages list.

When you leave, everyone else in the group gets a notification that you have left. You cannot rejoin the same group — if you want back in, someone else has to add you again. Leaving is permanent until that happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send a group text to people who do not have my contact information?

Yes. You can add anyone by their phone number, whether they have you saved in their contacts or not. They will receive the message and can reply, and their replies will come back to the group. They will see everyone else's phone numbers or names in the group (depending on what they have saved), but the conversation works the same way.

What is the difference between a group text and a group chat?

On iPhone, "group text" and "group chat" are often used to mean the same thing — a conversation with multiple people in Messages. Technically, a group text uses SMS or MMS (the older texting standard), while a group chat uses iMessage (Apple's system). In practice, iPhone handles both the same way, and you do not need to choose — the phone picks the right method based on who is in the group.

If I delete a group text conversation, does it delete it for everyone else?

No. Deleting a conversation from your Messages list only removes it from your phone. Everyone else in the group still has the conversation, and if they send a new message, a new copy of the conversation will appear on your phone. Deleting is not the same as leaving — to actually remove yourself, use "Leave this Conversation" in Details.

Why do some group texts show "Delivered" and others do not?

If everyone in the group has an iPhone and iMessage is on, you see "Delivered" and "Read" indicators. If even one person has an Android phone or has iMessage turned off, the group switches to MMS, and those indicators disappear. You will only see whether the message was sent, not whether it was delivered or read.

Can I schedule a group text to send later?

Not through the standard Messages app on iPhone. You can type the message, close the app, and send it manually later, or you can use a third-party texting app from the App Store that offers scheduling. The built-in Messages app does not have a "send later" feature for any text, group or individual.