How to Remove Someone from a Texting Group on iPhone

If you want to remove someone from a texting group on iPhone, it’s easier than you think in iMessage. If you’re using iMessage group messaging and someone no longer belongs to the group, it’s not entirely impossible to remove them from future communications.

This tutorial will guide you through removing people and yourself, adding contacts, and muting groups. We’ll also explain how to handle trolls in your group.

Remove someone from the texting group in iMessage

Being added to a particularly active group can be a drawback. Whatever your reasons for wanting to remove someone from a texting group, it’s easy to do so on the iPhone, even if the controls are a little hidden.

Restrictions

Remember that everyone in the group chat should use iMessage (blue chat bubbles); This will not work with regular SMS or MMS group chats (green chat bubbles). For the Delete option to appear, you also need at least three other people in the group chat (four people total).

You will not see the ‘Delete’ option if:

• There are less than three total members in your group message.
• There is a contact that uses SMS messages: Even an iPhone can be using SMS and still appear blue, meaning you won’t see the “Delete” option.
• Someone is using a non-Apple operating system.

How to remove someone from a group message

Assuming all conditions are correct, here’s how to remove someone from an iMessage group:

1. Open the group chat in question from your iMessage app.

   

2. Tap the group of icons at the top of the iMessage group.

   

3. Tap on the ‘Yo’ that appears on the right to open the list of group members.

   

4. Swipe left on the name of the person you want to remove and tap ‘Eliminate’ when it appears on the right. If you can’t swipe to reveal the ‘Eliminate’ option, see disclaimer above.

   

5. Select Eliminate when the pop-up window appears.

   

This immediately removes that person from your message group. If you don’t have the ‘Delete’ option, you will have to start a new thread without the unwanted contact. The chat history will remain on your phone, but you won’t receive any new ones as long as you send your text messages to the new group and not the old one.

Remove yourself from a group iMessage

There is an option to remove yourself from an iMessage group, assuming the criteria mentioned above are met. If someone adds you to a group you don’t want to be in, follow these steps:

1. Open the iMessage group as before and click on the small ‘Yo’ below profile photos.

   

2. Scroll down the information page and tap ‘Leave this conversation.’
   
   

Again, if you don’t see this option, it may be because someone in the group is not using iMessage or the group is too small to meet the criteria we listed above.

How to Leave a Group iMessage on Mac

If you’re using a Mac or MacBook, you can leave the iMessage group from there. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Message app and tap the iMessage group.
   
2. Tap Yo in the upper right corner.
   
3. Tap Leave this conversation.
   

Yeah Leave this conversation It’s gray and you can’t click on it, it’s because there is one Android in the chat or less than four people.

Add someone to a group iMessage

Fortunately, if you missed a contact, you can add one later. The same weird criteria as above apply, so if there’s an SMS user in the group, you won’t be able to make it.

1. Open the information page just as we have done before. Tap the option ‘+ Add contact.’

   

2. Choose the contact and add them to the group as you normally would.

   

Mute a conversation in iMessage

If you’re not ready to leave the conversation but want to take a break, you can hide alerts. This means less hassle and saves you a confrontation.

1. Open the group chat on your iPhone and tap the profile picture circle at the top of the window.

   

2. Tap on the ‘Yo‘option when displayed to view the list of group members.

   

3. Select Hide alerts at the bottom of the group window.

   

This will prevent any conversation alerts from reaching your phone, effectively ignoring it.

Block the contact

If you’re out of options, consider blocking a contact. Assuming you can’t leave a group you never asked to be in (like a spammer), your only option is to block people from the group.

You can also stop messages from an inpidual in a group.

1. Open the group chat on your iPhone. Then, tap the contact group at the top of the page.

   

2. Select blue ‘Yo’ to get the Info icon at the top right to open the list of group members.

   

3. Select the person you want to block.

   

4. Select Block this caller.

   

5. Select “Block contact” to confirm

   

That last step is important since iMessage won’t always block the person unless you confirm it in the group window. If this is the option you will surely take, we have a complete tutorial here about how to do it.

Frequent questions

Protecting your peace in the digital age shouldn’t be a hassle. Here’s more information on how to manage your iMessage groups.

Can I delete the entire group?

Unfortunately not. You can swipe to delete the conversation, but everyone else will remain in the group. Every time someone sends a new message to the group, you’ll receive a notification and the conversation will appear again in your messaging app.

Can I update contact information for someone in the group?

Yes, using the ‘i’ mentioned above, you should have access to update users’ phone numbers. If it doesn’t update correctly, simply add the new contact to the group.

What happens if I block a contact who is in a group message with me?

If you block someone in an iMessage group, they will still be in the group. But luckily, they can’t see your messages and you can’t see theirs either. If a person is bothering you, you can block that contact without kicking them completely from the iMessage group.

Keep in mind that other contacts will still see messages from you and the person you blocked.

Start a new group chat that excludes the troll

If you are not the one who started the group chat and others are responding to the troll, you may need to remove yourself from the group chat and then start a new message group that excludes the troll. If you then send a message to let the group know why you started the new message group, people can mute themselves or remove themselves from the original group and continue the more civil conversation in the new group.

Do you have any suggestions for avoiding trolls in text message groups, social media, and online forums? If so, please comment below.