How can I adjust the notification settings for group chats?

A group chat feature is available. Group chats are managed on each individual device. The Threema servers have no knowledge about group compositions. Groups can contain up to 256 members.

New groups can be created using the “New group” item in the main menu on Android and using the “Compose message” button on iOS.

Android

As creator, you can delete a group at once, without having to remove all members manually. Please note: after you have deleted a group, other group members can’t use it anymore.

To delete a group, open it, tap on the group’s name in the title bar, open the menu, and select “Delete group.”

As a regular group member, you cannot delete a group, but you can leave it. Please note: when leaving a group, the group messages will not be deleted. To leave a group, open it, tap on the group’s name in the title bar, open the menu, and select “Leave group.”

To remove the chat from your chat list and delete the chat history, tap and hold the chat, then tap “Empty chat.”

iOS

Groups created by an iOS user are deleted as soon as the last member has left the group.

To leave a group on iOS, swipe left on the group (in the chat list or in the group list), and tap “Delete.”

Only the creator of a group can add new and remove existing group members.

Open the group details by tapping the group’s profile picture to learn who is the group’s creator. If you are the creator, you can edit the members as follows:

Android

To add members, open the group details and tap “+.”

To remove a member, tap on their name in the group details and then on “Kick [user] from group.”

iOS

To edit the group members, open the group details and tap on “Manage members.” There, you can add and remove members.

Like single chats, group chats are end-to-end encrypted in Threema. For privacy reasons, groups are not managed on our servers but directly on users’ devices. Since there is no information concerning group compositions stored on the server, groups can become asynchronous, e.g., if a user restores a data backup or is absent for an extended period of time.

If a group is asynchronous, we recommend resynchronizing it first. Only the creator can initiate a synchronization (in the group’s detail view). Should the problem persist, please remove the group member due to which the group became asynchronous (see above), and add them again.

You can access a group’s detail view as follows:

• Android: In the group chat, tap on the title bar.
  
• iOS: In the group chat, tap on the title bar, and then tap on the bar that appears underneath it (containing tokens of the group members).
  

If some members cannot see messages in a group chat, it is usually because they have activated the “Block Unknown” option. Disable the “Block Unknown” option in “Threema > Settings > Privacy” to receive all group-chat messages.

For privacy reasons, groups are not managed on our servers but directly on users’ devices. An ID export only contains the Threema ID and will therefore not suffice to restore groups. A Threema Safe backup, on the other hand, also contains your group memberships (besides other data) and is platform-independent.

Like single chats, group chats are end-to-end encrypted in Threema. For privacy reasons, groups are managed in a decentralized manner on users’ devices, not on a server. Neither is it possible to transfer creator privileges, nor can creator privileges be granted to multiple users.

Cloning Groups

If a group’s creator leaves the group, a new group must be created. However, groups can be cloned. If a group member clones a group, they become creator of a new group consisting of the same members as the original group. The chat history is not transferred to the new group.

• Android: Tap the title bar in the group chat, then tap the three vertical dots, and select “Clone group.”
  
• iOS: In the group chat, tap the title bar, and then tap the bar that appears underneath it (containing tokens of the group members). Finally, tap “Clone group” at the end of the member list.
  

To mention a group member, perform the following steps:

• Open the desired group chat
  
• Type the “@” character on the keyboard, which will bring up a list of all group members
  
• Select the group member you wish to mention; typing additional characters will narrow the list accordingly

Use “@All” to mention all group members.

To learn how to only get notified when you are mentioned, please consult the FAQ article on notification settings for group chats (if you use an Android device) or the article on individual notification settings in iOS.