How to Delete Text Groups on iPhone

You can delete the text group, but it might come back

By
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Senior News Editor, Fact Checker
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Updated on March 25, 2022
Reviewed by
Jerrick Leger
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Reviewed by Jerrick Leger
    Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses.
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    iPhone & iOS

    What to Know

    • To delete a text group on iPhone, swipe the group message to the left and tap Delete.
    • Tap the profile icons or the i icon at the top of a group message, then tap Leave this Conversation and confirm you want to leave.
    • If anyone in your group uses Android, you can delete the conversation, but it will reappear the next time messages arrive.

    This article provides instructions for how to leave a text group, mute notifications on a text group, and delete a group chat permanently.

    How Do I Delete a Text Group?

    Text groups are text messages shared with three or more people. You can initiate a text group, or someone else can. If you're part of a text group you no longer want to participate in, you can delete the text group to remove yourself from the conversation. To do that:

    • On iOS 12 and newer, tap the profile icons at the top of the message thread and then tap Leave this Conversation.
    • On iOS 11 and older, tap the i icon at the top of the message thread and then tap Leave this Conversation.

    Once you've left the conversation, you'll no longer receive notifications from the group text unless someone on the group is an Android user. In that case, the text group will come back when someone sends a message in the group.

    If so, you may want to stop the notifications from the group. To do that, open the message thread and tap the profile icons or the i icon at the top of the message thread. (It depends on the version of iOS you have.) Then toggle Hide Alerts On (the button is green when On and gray when Off). You'll no longer receive alerts for messages in this group.

    Screenshots show how to hide alerts from a group text message.

    How Do I Get Rid of Recent Text Groups on iPhone?

    There's another way to get rid of text groups on your iPhone, too. Find the group message in your text list, and then swipe the group message to the left and tap Delete. This method deletes the group for you but leaves it active for other people.

    Screenshots showing how to delete a group message on iPhone.

    It will remove you from the current conversation going on in the group. However, if there is an Android user in the group when the next message comes through, you'll be brought back into the conversation. You can use the instructions above to silence the notifications for the group.

    Also, if the people in the group you deleted start a new text thread and add you to it, you will receive those messages. You'll need to go through these steps again to stop receiving them.

    How Do You Permanently Delete a Group Chat?

    To permanently delete a group chat, you can use the same swipe left, and tap Delete action to delete all the messages in the conversation. Be sure you've saved any shared images or videos from the chat before you delete it because once it's gone, you cannot get those back.

    FAQ
    • How do I make text groups on an iPhone?

      Start a group text on iPhone by opening Messages and tapping Compose > Add (Plus icon) > and searching for contacts to add to the group text. Then type your message and press Send.

    • How do I name text groups on my iPhone?

      To name your text group on an iPhone, open the group text > tap the icons at the top of the conversation > and select Change Name and Photo. Type a new name > assign each participant a new photo if you want to > and select Done when you're finished. If you don't see the name change option, that's because not everyone in the text group has an Apple device.

    • How do I delete groups from text messages on Android?

      If you want to leave a group text on Android, you must ask someone to remove you. However, you can mute or delete the conversation to stop receiving notifications. Select the three vertical dots on the upper-right part of the conversation and tap the Notifications bell to silence alerts or choose Delete.

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