Groups — White Noise

Groups let you chat with several people together.

Create a group

In the chat list, tap New Message, then New Group.
Choose the people you want, then tap Continue. Your picks appear under Selected.
On Set Up Group, name the group and set Disappearing messages. A name is required when you start alone; unnamed groups show their members.
Tap Create.

Expected result: the group opens. A group with only you shows Only you are here; tap Add members to invite people. Tap Retry when the chat fails to start. Chat unavailable may mean the chat is still syncing, so wait a moment and tap Retry.

Open group info

Open the conversation and tap its header. Group Info shows Group · N members and quick actions for About, Mute, Disappearing, and Search. Non-admins see Only admins can add or manage members.

Edit group details

Only admins can edit, and everyone in the group sees the name and description.

Tap Edit, or tap Add Description.
In Edit Group Info, change the name or description. Leave the description blank to remove it.
Tap Save.

To change the picture, tap the group photo. If an update fails, check your connection and try again.

Manage members and admins

Removed members lose access to new messages. Removal can't erase messages they already received.

Add: tap Add People, then tap Invite after selecting people.
Remove: open a member's actions and choose Remove.
Change roles: in the same actions, choose Make Admin or Remove Admin.
Step down: tap Step Down as Admin. If you're the last admin, make someone else admin first.
From a profile: under Groups in Common, tap Add to Group. It lists groups you administer that the person has yet to join.

Admins are labeled Admin and listed first. If an action fails, check your connection and retry it.

View group relays

In the conversation details, open Relays to see the servers used by this conversation. The list is read-only. Changing your account relay list does not change an existing group's routing.

Review group reports

Active group admins can open Moderation from Group Info. Each entry shows the report and the message when it is available. Tap Dismiss to close the report without deleting the message, or Delete to review the Delete Message confirmation.

Deletion affects members using compatible clients. Older clients may retain the message, and saved copies remain outside your control.

Tap Retry if the list fails to load, or Load more to see more reports. Saved; delivery confirmation is pending. means the action is still waiting for confirmation.

Notifications and disappearing messages

Tap Notifications. Under Notify me about, choose All messages, Only mentions, or Nothing. Tap Mute to silence the chat and Unmute to restore it. Tap Retry when settings fail to load.

Admins set the disappearing timer for everyone, and expired messages are permanently removed. The timer can't stop saved copies or screenshots.

Tap Disappearing messages.
Choose a preset or Custom, then tap Save.
Tap Set Timer to confirm.

Leave or remove a group

Leaving stops new messages. History stays on this device until you delete it.

Leave: in Group Info, choose the leave action and confirm at Leave this group? In the chat list, you can also choose Leave Chat. The row then shows Left chat, or Removed from chat if someone removed you. Filter finds these chats.
Archive: tap Archive. It hides the chat from your main list and doesn't notify anyone.

Deleting permanently removes the chat and its messages from this device. Signing in again won't restore them.

Delete: tap Delete Local Copy. In the chat list, choose Delete Chat. To delete several, tap Select chat and choose Delete Chats.

Ending a group removes everyone permanently. No one can send messages or make changes afterward.

End (admins): tap End Group and confirm. Ending group… shows while it processes, then Group ended.

Advanced: recover a group

Use these steps only when a group stops syncing. For other diagnostics, see Settings.

Rejoin. After Unable to restore group synchronization., some invitations retry automatically. Re-invite anyone still missing from Group Info. Then tap Review Rejoin Invitation; Invited by names the inviter.

Rejoining replaces this device's group state with the invited copy. Saved history is kept. Only rejoin if you trust the inviter; a newer group version alone isn't proof.

Tap Rejoin Group or Decline Invitation, or Cancel to decide later. If the check fails, tap Retry.

Delete local group.

This deletes the group's local history, state, draft, and downloaded media on this device. Other members are unaffected. Rejoining needs a fresh invitation from someone still in the group.

In Group Info, open Chat Developer Tools, tap Delete Local Group, and confirm.

Quarantined groups. White Noise quarantines a stored group when it can't safely load the encryption state. Go to Settings > Developer Tools > Quarantined Groups and tap Retry Recovery. Tap Retry Loading when Load Failed appears. A retry keeps your history. Validation and membership also stay as they are. If Recovery retry failed appears, try later. The screen reports when every stored group loads.

iOS screenshots are being prepared.