Apple and Android Privacy: How to leave a Group Chat

Apple and Android Privacy: “Using Apple’s iMessage, RCS on Android, or old-fashioned MMS? Here’s how to handle (or at least silence and hide) any text conversation from your phone.

One major reason folks prefer group chats on iMessage or RCS texting over Google Messages is the added control they offer. Whether you’re an iPhone user in a group of Apple device owners or an Android user chatting with fellow Android users via RCS, you get typing indicators, high-quality media sharing, and the option to mute or exit a conversation.

Apple and Android Privacy: But group texts with a mix of iPhone and Android users only offer basic features, as they’re sent as MMS, a texting standard lacking modern messaging features.

In 2024, we may see a decrease in MMS use. Apple plans to support the RCS standard, potentially improving group texting between iPhone and Android users with features like muting notifications and end-to-end encryption.

Leaving Group Chat on an Iphone

Leaving group chats on an iPhone is easy. Open Messages, find the chat, and tap “Leave this Conversation” or “Hide Alerts” to mute it. Android users can leave group chats in Google Messages by tapping the chat’s name and selecting “Leave Group.” To mute notifications, tap “Notifications” and adjust the settings.

Leave group chats on an Android phone

On an Android phone using Google Messages, visit the chat thread you want to leave. Tap the conversation’s name to bring up the Group Details menu. At the bottom of the screen tap the Leave Group button. Unlike with iMessage, you can leave chats with as few as three participants.

If you want to just mute notifications, tap Notifications on the Group Details screen to bring up a window with notifications controls. This includes options to make the conversation stay Silent to prevent it from ringing your chat, and if you tap Lock Screen, a pop-up menu will give you the option to prevent notifications. Tap Don’t show notifications at all to enable.

Hide and block MMS chats on an Android phone

On an Android phone with Google Messages, follow the same steps to access options for controlling notifications. This includes visiting the MMS chat thread and then tapping either the name of the conversation or the names of the participants at the top to bring up the Group Details menu. You won’t see a Leave Group option like you did with an RCS thread, but you do get the same ability to tap Notifications to access controls for hiding the conversation from view. This includes the same options for turning the conversation to Silent and to select Don’t show notifications at all.

SMS vs. MMS vs. RCS

SMS stands for Short Message Service and debuted in 1992. Text messages are limited to 160 characters. MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service and supports sending photos, videos, or other files and messages longer than 160 characters. MMS supports a group of people chatting in a single conversation thread, while SMS can text multiple people at once but is sent as individual messages to each person. RCS, which launched 15 years ago, is short for Rich Communication Services and can show typing indicators, read receipts and has end-to-end encryption.

While cross-platform chat apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram have better controls for conversations, encryption and privacy, regardless of the type of phone participants are using, they don’t support SMS, MMS or RCS. That’s why the default messaging app on most phones is still widely used even if it means that a group chat is on a less feature-filled, unsecured standard like MMS.

Apple and Android Privacy: While apps like WhatsApp offer better privacy and encryption, many still rely on SMS, MMS, or RCS for group chats due to their widespread availability. But as messaging standards advance, we hope to see fewer limitations in group chat functionality in the future.”