How to Create a Group Chat on Snapchat

Snapchat group chats let you message, share Snaps, and hang out with up to 200 people in a single conversation. Whether you're coordinating plans with friends, staying connected with a team, or just keeping a crew in the loop, the feature is built directly into the app — no third-party tools required. Here's exactly how it works and what shapes the experience depending on how you use it.

What Is a Snapchat Group Chat?

A Snapchat Group Chat is a shared messaging space where multiple users can send text messages, Snaps, voice notes, stickers, and even start group calls. It functions similarly to group chats on iMessage or WhatsApp, but with Snapchat's signature mechanics layered on top — meaning messages can still disappear based on the chat settings each member has applied.

Groups support up to 200 members and can be named, making them easy to manage across different social circles.

How to Create a Group Chat on Snapchat 💬

The steps are nearly identical on both iOS and Android:

From the Chat Screen

1. Open Snapchat and tap the Chat bubble icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the pencil/compose icon in the top-right corner.
3. In the "To:" field, start typing the names of friends you want to add.
4. Select two or more friends from the suggestions.
5. Once you've chosen everyone, tap Chat (or the arrow button).
6. Your group chat is created. You can name it by tapping the chat name at the top.

From a Friend's Profile

You can also start from an existing one-on-one conversation:

1. Open a chat with a friend.
2. Tap their name at the top to open their profile.
3. Select Add to Group or create a new group that includes them.

Naming Your Group

Naming a group is optional but useful when you're managing several. Tap the group name at the top of the chat screen, then select Edit Group Name. Everyone in the group can see the name change.

Managing Members: Adding and Removing People

Once a group is created, you — or any member — can add new people:

• Tap the group name at the top of the chat.
• Select Add Members.
• Search for and select the friends you want to add.

Removing someone requires being the group admin (typically the person who created the group). Tap the member's name within the group settings, then choose Remove from Group. Removed members lose access to future messages but may retain visibility of messages sent before their removal, depending on their own save settings.

Group Calls and Audio/Video Features 🎥

Snapchat group chats aren't just text-based. From any group chat you can:

• Tap the phone icon to start a group voice call
• Tap the video camera icon to start a group video call
• Group video calls support up to 16 participants simultaneously

This is a meaningful distinction — while the chat itself holds 200 members, the live video/audio feature caps at 16 at one time. If your group is larger than that, only 16 can be actively connected in a call.

How Snapchat's Disappearing Message Rules Apply to Groups

This is where group chats get more nuanced than most platforms. Each member's individual save settings interact with the group, which means:

Unlike a private chat where only two people's settings matter, in a group with 200 members, any one person can save a message, and that save is visible to the whole group. This changes the privacy dynamic significantly compared to one-on-one Snaps.

Notifications and Muting

Large groups can generate a lot of activity. Snapchat lets you mute notifications for a group without leaving it:

• Tap the group name → Message Notifications → choose a duration or mute indefinitely.

You'll still receive messages; they just won't ping you every time someone sends something.

Variables That Affect Your Group Chat Experience

Not every user's experience with Snapchat group chats will be identical. A few factors shape how the feature behaves in practice:

• App version: Snapchat updates features regularly. Older versions of the app may not support the full 200-member limit or the latest call features. Keeping the app updated matters more on Snapchat than on many other platforms.
• Device and OS: Some visual effects, Bitmoji reactions, and in-chat AR features perform differently on older hardware or older versions of iOS and Android.
• Group size: A group with 5 people feels and behaves very differently from one with 100. Message volume, notification frequency, and how the disappearing message rules play out all shift at scale.
• Member settings: Because each participant controls their own save and notification preferences, the "feel" of a group chat is partly shaped by behaviors you can't directly control.
• Friendship status: You can only add people to a group chat if they're already your friend on Snapchat. If someone isn't in your friends list, they can't be added until that connection exists.

Group chats on Snapchat are straightforward to create, but how useful — or how chaotic — they become depends heavily on who's in them, how they're configured, and what you're actually using them for.