Skip to main content

How to make a contact group on an iPhone to message multiple people

apple iphone 15 pro max review cameras up close
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

iPhone has a bunch of cool features, but few are as useful as contact groups. As of iOS 16, Apple lets you pool contacts together into groups, making it easy to spam out messages to family, friends, or colleagues without needing to tinker with a bunch of clunky settings. You don't even need any extra software or apps – as long as you're running iOS 16 or later, you can quickly make a contact group on your iPhone.

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

15 minutes

What You Need

  • An iPhone

  • An iCloud account

In this guide, we'll show you exactly how to create a contact group on your iPhone, how to send messages to that group, and how to remove contacts or delete groups from your phone.

How to create a contact group on your iPhone

When you create a new contact group, you can add as many contacts as you want. And the steps for doing so are as follows:

Step 1: On the iPhone home screen, tap on the Contacts app. You can also get there by tapping on the Phone app, then selecting Contacts at the bottom.

Open the Contacts app on your iPhone Home screen
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Tap Lists at the top left.

Adding contacts to a list in the Contacts app
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Next, tap Add List at the top right.

Name your new list in the Contacts app
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: In the newly formed box, type the List Name. Tap Add List at the top right.

Add contacts to a Contacts group
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 5: On the Lists page, choose the list you just created. Tap Add Contacts. Choose every contact you wish to add to the list. When finished, tap Done at the top right.

How to send a message to your contact group

With your contact group created, you're now ready to send messages to your group. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Go back into the Lists page in the Contacts app, then long press the list you just created.

Prepare to message everyone in a group
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Choose Message All. Send a message to the group as you would any other message.

How to remove a contact from your group

The time may come when you want to remove someone from your group. Should the need arise, doing so is quite simple:

Step 1: To get started, go into the Contacts app, then select the list you created above.

Remove a contact from a group
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Swipe left on the contact you wish to remove and tap Remove. Your contact has been permanently removed from your group.

How to delete a contact group on your iPhone

Similarly, you can also delete the entire contact group if it's no longer needed.

Step 1: To get started, go into the Contacts app, then choose the List page.

Delete a contacts group in the Contacts app
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Tap Edit at the top left.

Step 3: Tap the red icon to the left of the list you wish to delete.

Step 4: Tap the red garbage icon to delete the list. Your list is now deleted.

There are a lot of unique things you can do with the Messages app on your iPhone and iPad. In iOS 17, there's even more, such as creating your own iMessage stickers. You can also edit and unsend messages, along with the option to filter unknown senders. Managing your contacts and messages can be a pain, but if you know how to take control of the settings at your disposal, it doesn't have to be.

Bryan M. Wolfe
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
Best refurbished iPhone deals: Get an iPhone 14 for $462
An iPhone 13 in white color option.

Newer iPhone models have been turning out some of the best phone deals and best Apple deals you can shop lately, but if you really want to land some big time iPhone savings a refurbished iPhone is worth taking a look at. Today’s best refurbished iPhone deals include a wide variety of previous iPhone generations, including both iPhone 14 deals and iPhone SE deals. We’ve tracked down all of the best refurbished iPhone deals and organized them below, so read onward for all of the details on which may best suit your needs. And if you’d like to see some comparable phones don’t miss out on all of the Google Pixel 8 deals, Samsung Galaxy S23 deals, and Samsung Galaxy S22 deals going on today.
iPhone XR -- from $154

A refurbished model but one that's unlocked and comes with a full one-year warranty, the Apple iPhone XR is still pretty stylish for its age. It has a large 6.1-inch LCD screen with 1,792 x 828 resolution with Liquid Retina technology ensuring it looks super sharp. Powered by the A12 Bionic chip, it's starting to show its age but still has potential. There's also a 12MP back camera that can shoot 4K videos while the front-facing camera is 7MP and ideal for selfie-taking.

Read more
There’s something wrong with the iPhone 16 Pro’s touchscreen
iPhone 16 Pro.

The iPhone 16 Pro just launched this past Friday, but there are already some issues surfacing in regards to the touchscreen. According to a report from 9to5Mac and complaints on Reddit, it seems that a number of iPhone 16 Pro users have noticed that some taps and swipes are being ignored on their iPhone 16 Pro display, which in turn affects interactions like scrolling and button presses. Those with a regular iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus are not affected.

The reason for this touchscreen issue? Because of the much thinner bezels of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max display, the accidental touch rejection algorithm seems to be more sensitive than before. This is a software bug that is likely the culprit causing ignored taps and swipes. The software algorithm is triggered when the user makes unintentional contact with other parts of the screen around the edges, causing the rejection of intended taps on the screen.

Read more
The iPhone 17 may get the 120Hz display we’ve waited years for
The lock screen on the iPhone 16.

One of the things people have been most disappointed by over the years about Apple’s entry-level iPhones is set to be corrected. Unfortunately, that correction won’t happen until the iPhone 17 next year.

Last week, Apple launched the iPhone 16 series. The entry-level iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have been praised for their new colors, refreshed rear camera designs, and more. However, many people are disappointed that these phones still have a 60Hz refresh rate, which is embarrassing for Apple, especially considering that the iPhone Pro series, including the new iPhone 16 Pro, offers a 120Hz refresh rate.

Read more