How to Rename Group Chats in iMessage

If you use iMessage, you’ve probably been roped into a group chat or two. It can often become confusing, so what can you do if you have a number of them going at once and can’t tell them apart?

Thankfully, Apple thought of this problem, so iOS allows you to customize the group name to keep your messaging application neat and tidy. The only drawback is that all participants need to be using iMessage.

Renaming iMessage Group Chats on the iPhone or iPad

To rename iMessage group chats on iOS, start out by opening the main window for a group message you’ve already set up.

In the top right corner right underneath the battery icon, tap the “i” enclosed in a circle.

On the next screen, tap on “Enter a Group Name”.

Now type in an appropriate name for your group and when you’re finished, tap “Done”.

Notice now that your group’s name appears at the top. Everyone in the thread will be able to see what you named the conversation (so don’t name it something like “Chat with Jerks”), and they too can change the name to whatever they want.

Here you see our newly renamed group as it now appears in our chats list.

This should hopefully make it easier to pick out specific group chats, especially if you have a lot of them in iMessage.

Renaming iMessage Group Chats on macOS Sierra

As of macOS Sierra, you can now rename iMessage group chats on the desktop, too.

First, open the group chat you want to rename and click “Details” in the upper-right corner. Then, click on “Add a group name” from the resulting drop-down menu.

Type in your new group name and hit Enter.

Your name change will now appear in the group chat’s message thread for everyone to see. They can change it to whatever they want provided they are using iMessage.

The new name will also appear in your chat list, making it easier to find specific group chats.

Just remember, this trick will only work if you’re using iMessage. If you’re conversing with non-iMessage users, you won’t be able to change this group name. And, just in case you’re wondering, it’s easy to tell who is using iMessage by the color of their messages.

And it’s as easy as that! So the next time your messages are getting a little out of control and you need a better filing system, just use the rename feature to minimize the confusion and streamline your group conversations.