Everything you need to know to master Snapchat Groups
While Instagram is busy ripping off Snapchat feature-for-feature, the original ephemeral messaging app has finally added something Instagram has had for years: group chat.
Snapchat's group chat is simply called "Groups" and it's pretty straightforward if you know your way around the app, but it does come with a few quirks, and some of its features may not be that obvious.
How many people can join a Group?
16. Sweet sixteen. Want to add a 17th person? Sorry, you'll have to kick someone out of the group.
Can I add more people to the Group later?
Sure you can. Any member of an existing Group can add more members (until the Group fills up to 16) at any time. Tap the menu icon within a group chat and then tap "Add to Group".
How do I create a Group?
It's really easy. Go into your chat, tap the button in the upper left to add members and then give the Group a name.
How long do messages in the Group last?
24 hours. It's just like with messages sent to individual users. The group will still exist, but the messages inside it will die off one by one as time marches ever-forward.
After 24 hours, messages disappear forever... unless you save them.
Can I save messages in a Group?
Yes, you can. Saving works exactly the same as in private messaging. Just press and hold on a message and then tap save. The thread will make a note of the save so all the people in the Group will see that you saved the message.
You can have a side conversation really easily
It's the digital equivalent of pulling someone aside for a quick side chat. Though it's a group chat, you can still message members individually really quickly and easily.
Just tap on their name to send them a private message. It's perfect for throwing secret shade.
You can send stickers, Bitmoji, Friendmoji, voice notes and video notes
Groups lets you send all of the media that you can with regular direct messaging. Go crazy with all the Bitmoji and silly video notes you want.
How do I rename the Group?
Tap the hamburger menu icon in the upper left and then tap "Edit Group Name".
Who can rename the Group?
Anyone in the Group. Yeah -- it's crazy. We could see this being a problem with keeping track of different groups if people keep renaming them (for the lulz). Whether this is a bug or a feature, now's a good time to remind yourself to always look at who you're sending messages to before you shoot them off. You don't want to have to explain yourself over a message meant for a different group.
What happens if you leave a Group?
Dark and dangerous things. In all seriousness, aside from everyone seeing in the chat that you've left, all of your messages will cleared from the group.
What happens when you're added back into the Group you left?
The good news: well, congrats, you're back in the cool club. The bad news: you have to start fresh. All messages sent from other group members before you left and after you left aren't visible to you anymore (within the 24 hour time limit, of course).
Topics Snapchat
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
