Group chats are great, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes they can be overwhelming, especially if there’s that one person who constantly sends messages, memes, Instagram Reels, or TikTok video links throughout the day. Other times, the group chat is designed for a specific event or reason, after which you don’t feel the need to continue in it. If you’re looking to quietly leave a group chat, it’s easy to do if the criteria are met. Just keep in mind that your absence will be known.
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How to leave a group chat on iPhone
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
- Open the group conversation you want to leave.
- Tap the group name (or icons showing the other members) at the top, center area above the chat. Note that you can only leave group conversations with four or more people, and it only works if all members of the conversation are using iMessage. Otherwise, your options are more limited and you could Hide Alerts here instead.
- Select Leave this Conversation.
- Select Leave this Conversation again in the pop-up.
- You’ll see a notice at the bottom of the conversation that says you have left the group, and so will the others. You will no longer be able to comment nor rejoin the group. To chat with the same group again, you’d have to set up the group chat anew.
Handle leaving group chats with care
As noted, when you leave a group chat, members of the group receive a notification that you have done so. Given this, you might want to handle the situation delicately. Consider letting the members know that you are leaving because the conversation is distracting to your workdays or schoolwork. If you prefer to leave without explanation, be prepared if someone asks why you left, and be honest about the decision.
There is an alternate method to consider if you want to leave a group chat temporarily: Hide Alerts and silence the chat. Messages are still sent and received as normal in this case, but you won’t receive notifications from that specific chat group. You can simply check the chat at your leisure, or un-silence the chat and flip through the messages when you do have the time to do so. To silence a group chat, swipe to the left on the conversation in your list menu and select the bell with a line through it. Do this again and tap the bell without the line to un-silence the conversation.
The great thing about iOS 17 on the latest iPhones is that it has a new feature called Catch-Up. As one of the best keyboard improvements and upgrades, the feature displays a handy arrow taking you right back to wherever you left off in the conversation. From there, you can read everything you missed and be back in the conversation without having to endlessly scroll back to find the last message you read. It’s a great alternative to leaving a group chat altogether if you think what you really need is a break from it.