How to Create a Telegram Group (and Make It Public or Private)

To create a Telegram group, tap the new message button in your chat list, choose New Group, pick at least one contact (or skip, where your app allows it), then give the group a name and create it. Every new group starts private. To make it public, open the group's info, choose Edit, change the group type to Public and set a username, which becomes its t.me link.

Creating the group takes a minute. Setting it up well takes a little longer and saves trouble later. This guide covers both: the creation steps on each device, the public versus private decision, and the settings to check before you invite anyone. If you are unsure whether you need a group or a channel, read Telegram channel vs group first.

Group or channel: a quick check

A group is a conversation where members can talk to each other. A channel is a broadcast where only admins post and subscribers read. Choose a group when you want discussion among members: a club, a class, a team, a customer community, a neighbourhood chat. Choose a channel when you want to publish to an audience.

You can also combine them: a channel for announcements with a linked group for discussion. You link the two from the channel's settings. This guide is about creating the group itself.

Before you start

Five decisions are easier before the group exists than after:

1. What is it for? One sentence is enough: "a place for parents in Class 4B to share school updates". This becomes your description and guides every later setting.
2. Public or private? Public groups can be found in search and joined by anyone. Private groups need an invite link. The rest of this guide explains the trade-offs, but decide your default now.
3. What will you call it? A clear name helps members find it in their chat list. If public, you also need an available username.
4. Who will help you run it? A group with more than a few dozen active people needs at least one other admin.
5. What are the rules? Even a short list prevents arguments later. See how to write Telegram group rules.

How to create a group on Android

1. Open Telegram and tap the pencil button at the bottom right of the chat list.
2. Choose New Group.
3. Select the people you want to add from your contacts. You can search by name. Tap Next when done. Some versions let you continue without adding anyone.
4. Enter the group name. Tap the camera icon to add a group photo now, or do it later.
5. Some versions let you set an auto-delete timer for messages at this stage. Leave it off unless you need it.
6. Tap the checkmark to create the group.

The group opens, and Telegram posts a service message saying you created it.

How to create a group on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Chats tab.
2. Tap the new message icon in the top corner.
3. Choose New Group.
4. Select members from your contacts and tap Next.
5. Enter the group name, add a photo if you like, and tap Create.

How to create a group on Telegram Desktop

1. Click the menu button (three lines) at the top left.
2. Choose New Group.
3. Enter a name and, optionally, choose a photo. Click Next.
4. Select members from your contacts. Click Create.

On Desktop, the order of name and members is reversed compared with mobile, but the result is the same.

How to create a group on Telegram Web

Both web versions have a new chat button in the chat list, usually a pencil icon. Choose New Group, add members, name the group and create it. If an option is missing on the web, create the group on a phone or Desktop and manage it from the web afterwards.

Adding members

From your contacts

You can add people from your contacts when you create the group, or later from the group's info page using the add member option. Groups can hold up to 200,000 members.

When someone cannot be added

Telegram's privacy settings let people block others from adding them to groups. If you try to add someone with that setting, Telegram tells you it could not add them and usually offers to send them an invite link instead. They then decide whether to join. This is normal and not an error. For other causes, see can't add members to a Telegram group.

With an invite link

Every group has an invite link that admins can share. You can create several links with different settings: one that expires, one with a limited number of uses, or one that requires admin approval. Find them in the group's info under invite links. The Telegram invite links guide covers each option.

Public or private: what changes

Every new group starts private. Switching to public is one setting, but it changes how the group is found, joined and read.

A private group

• Joining: only through an invite link or being added by a member with permission.
• Finding: it does not appear in Telegram's search.
• Reading: outsiders cannot preview its messages.
• Link: an invite link made of random characters, which you can revoke and replace if it leaks.
• History for new members: you can choose whether new members see messages from before they joined.

A public group

• Joining: anyone can join with one tap, unless you require approval.
• Finding: people can find it in Telegram's search by name or username.
• Reading: anyone can usually open it and read messages before joining.
• Link: a permanent, readable link based on its username.
• History for new members: always visible, because anyone can read it anyway.

Which to choose

Choose private when the members are a known group of people: a family, a class, a team, a paid community, or anything where strangers would be unwelcome. A leaked private link can be revoked; a public username cannot be made unfindable.

Choose public when you want people to discover the group: a hobby community, a local interest group, a product's user community. Accept that public groups attract spam and need more moderation.

There is a middle route: a public group with join requests turned on. People can find it and ask to join, but an admin approves each one.

How to make a group public

1. Open the group and tap its name at the top to open the info page.
2. Tap Edit (a pencil icon on Android, the word Edit on iPhone, or Manage group on Desktop).
3. Open Group Type.
4. Select Public.
5. Enter a username. Telegram checks availability as you type. Usernames use letters, numbers and underscores, and Telegram requires a minimum length.
6. Save.

Your group's link is now t.me followed by the username. Share it anywhere.

If the username you want is taken, try variations, or a slightly longer name; some short names are reserved or sold as collectibles.

How to make a group private again

1. Open the group's info and tap Edit.
2. Open Group Type and select Private.
3. Save.

The username is released, and the old public link stops working. Anyone who saved it will see an error. Members stay in the group. Give the invite link to anyone who should still be able to join.

Be aware that someone else could claim the released username. If you might switch back, think twice before letting it go.

Settings to check right after creating

These settings live in the group's Edit screen. Labels differ slightly by app, but the options are similar everywhere.

Description

Write one or two sentences saying what the group is for and who it is for. Public groups show the description in search results and previews, so it helps the right people decide to join.

Chat history for new members

For private groups, choose whether new members can see messages sent before they joined.

• Visible suits most communities: newcomers can catch up.
• Hidden suits groups where older messages are sensitive, or where a fresh start for each member makes sense.

Telegram handles groups in two internal forms: a simpler basic group and a supergroup with more features. Changing some settings, including making history visible or making the group public, upgrades it to a supergroup automatically. You will not notice much except more options. See Telegram group vs supergroup vs gigagroup.

Permissions

Permissions decide what ordinary members can do. You can allow or block:

• Sending messages at all.
• Sending media, such as photos, videos, files, stickers, GIFs, voice and video messages.
• Sending links and link previews.
• Creating polls.
• Adding new members.
• Pinning messages.
• Changing the group's info.

Start strict on things that attract spam, such as links and adding members in a public group, and relax them later. It is easier to give permissions than to take them back after people are used to them.

Slow mode, also in permissions, limits how often each member can post. It calms a busy group; see Telegram slow mode and member restrictions.

Administrators

Add at least one co-admin you trust. Each admin can get a different set of rights: deleting messages, banning users, inviting users, pinning, changing info, managing voice chats, and adding other admins. Give each person only the rights they need. Keep "add new admins" to yourself unless you fully trust them.

You can also give admins a custom title, such as "Moderator" or "Teacher", which appears next to their name.

Join requests

For public groups, you can require admins to approve new members. People who tap Join send a request instead, and admins review them. This stops most spam accounts at the door.

Topics

Larger groups can turn on topics, which split the group into separate threads, each like a mini chat: announcements, questions, off-topic and so on. It keeps conversations from tangling. See how to use topics in Telegram groups.

Restrict saving content

You can stop members from forwarding messages, saving media and copying text from the group. Useful for a paid or private community, though it cannot stop someone photographing their screen with another device.

Reactions

Choose whether members can react to messages, and with which emoji. Some groups limit reactions to a small set to keep things tidy.

Naming a group so people find and recognise it

A group has two names that do different jobs, and confusing them causes most naming problems.

• The display name is what members see in their chat list. It can contain spaces, capital letters and emoji, and other groups can have the same one. It should tell a member at a glance which chat this is.
• The username exists only for public groups. It is unique across all of Telegram and becomes the link. It cannot contain spaces.

For the display name:

1. Lead with the distinguishing word. "Riverside Runners" is easier to spot in a long chat list than "Running Club Riverside", because chat lists cut off long names.
2. Say what it is if it is public. Search matches on words in the name, so a public group called "Pixel Art Help" is found by people searching "pixel art". A clever name nobody would search for hides the group.
3. Go easy on emoji. One can help recognition. Several make the name hard to read and harder to search.
4. Avoid looking official when you are not. A name that suggests you speak for a brand or organisation you do not run misleads people and can get the group reported.

For the username, pick something short, easy to spell when said aloud, and close to the display name. If the exact name is taken, adding a short word ("chat", "community", a city name) is usually clearer than adding numbers or underscores.

Ownership: the account behind the group

When you create a group, you become its owner. The owner has every right, including deleting the group and appointing admins with full powers. That makes your own account part of the group's security.

1. Turn on two-step verification. If your account is taken over, so is your group. Telegram also requires two-step verification before you can transfer ownership to someone else.
2. Know what happens if you leave. According to Telegram, if an owner leaves a group, ownership passes to one of its admins after about a week, and the owner can choose a new owner straight away when leaving. That is a good reason to have admins you trust.
3. Transfer properly when handing over. If someone else will run the group, transfer ownership from the admin settings rather than simply leaving. The same process applies to channels.

Invite links: small habits that prevent big problems

For a private group, the invite link is the front door. A few habits keep it under control:

• Create a separate link for each place you share it. One for your newsletter, one for your website, one for a partner. Telegram shows how many people joined through each, so you learn which source works and can close one without affecting the others.
• Use limits for one-off invitations. A link that expires after a day, or after a set number of uses, is ideal for inviting a specific batch of people.
• Revoke a leaked link immediately. If a private link is posted somewhere public, revoke it and create a new one. Existing members are not affected.
• Use approval for links you cannot control. A link shared in a large community can travel anywhere. Requiring approval means it can leak without letting strangers straight in.

Adjusting settings as the group grows

The right settings for a group of friends are wrong for a busy community. Revisit them as the group changes.

A small group of people who know each other

Keep it simple. Default permissions are usually fine, history can be visible, and one admin is enough. The main risk is someone sharing the invite link more widely than intended, so use a link with a limit or approval if that worries you.

A growing community

Once members start inviting their own friends and you no longer know everyone:

1. Add a second and third admin, ideally in different time zones if your members are spread out.
2. Restrict links for new members and consider slow mode during busy periods.
3. Post and pin rules, and enforce them consistently.
4. Consider topics, so separate conversations do not bury each other.
5. Add a moderation bot to catch obvious spam.

A large public group

At this stage, moderation is a job:

1. Turn on join requests if spam accounts are a problem.
2. Write down how admins should handle common situations, so decisions are consistent.
3. Check the group's statistics, which larger groups can view, to see when people are active and plan admin cover.
4. Use Telegram's built-in anti-spam options where your group qualifies, and review what they remove.

Features worth using from the start

A new group has more tools than most creators use. A few are especially useful early on:

• Pinned messages. Pin the rules, the welcome note or the current plan. Members see the pin at the top of the chat, and admins can pin several messages and let members scroll through them.
• Polls. Quick decisions, such as a meeting date or the next topic, are faster as a poll than as forty replies. Polls can be anonymous or show who voted, and quizzes have a correct answer.
• Scheduled messages. Write a reminder now and have it sent on the morning of an event, so you do not have to remember.
• Voice chats and live streams. A group can start a live audio or video room that members drop in and out of, useful for a weekly call or an informal meet-up.
• Mentions and replies. Replying to a specific message keeps threads readable, and mentioning someone by username notifies them even if they muted the group.
• Auto-delete. For groups where messages lose their value quickly, such as daily logistics, an auto-delete timer keeps the history short.

Introduce these one at a time. A new group with every feature switched on can feel complicated to newcomers.

Moving an existing community into a new group

If your community already talks elsewhere, such as another messaging app or an email list, plan the move:

1. Set up the group fully first, using the checklist below, so the first people to arrive find something organised.
2. Create an invite link just for the move, so you can count how many people came across.
3. Announce it in the old place with a clear reason: what the new group offers that the old place did not.
4. Pin a welcome message that tells newcomers where to start.
5. Keep the old place running for a short overlap, then post a final pointer to the new group.

People rarely move all at once. Expect the most active members first and the rest over several weeks.

A setup checklist for the first day

Run through this before you invite people:

1. Group photo set, recognisable at a small size.
2. Description written.
3. Public or private chosen, username set if public.
4. History for new members chosen.
5. Member permissions reviewed, especially links and adding members.
6. At least one co-admin added with limited rights.
7. Rules posted and pinned.
8. A short welcome message ready, pinned or sent by a bot.
9. Join requests on if the group is public and you expect spam.

Worked example: a private group for a running club

This is an illustrative scenario.

Kofi organises a running club of about forty people and wants a group for schedules and chat.

1. Type. Private, because only club members should join.
2. Creation. On his phone he creates "Riverside Runners" and adds the five committee members from his contacts.
3. History. Visible, so new members can scroll back and see the route plans.
4. Permissions. Members can send messages, photos and polls. Adding members is off, so only admins control who joins.
5. Admins. Two committee members become admins with rights to delete messages, pin and invite.
6. Invite link. He creates a link that requires approval, then shares it in the club's email newsletter.
7. Rules. He pins three lines: keep it about running and meet-ups, be kind, no selling.

Later the club decides to welcome people from the wider area. Kofi makes the group public, sets the username to the club's name, and keeps join requests on so admins still approve each runner.

Worked example: a public community for a product

This is an illustrative scenario.

A small software team wants a place where users can ask questions.

1. They create the group and make it public with the product's name as the username.
2. They turn on topics: Announcements (admins only), Questions, Feature requests and Off-topic.
3. Links are restricted for members to cut spam.
4. Join requests are on, with an admin checking each request for spam accounts.
5. Slow mode is set to a short interval during launch week, when traffic is heaviest.
6. They add a moderation bot and pin rules.

The group grows through search and the link on their website, and the topics keep support questions from burying announcements.

Troubleshooting

The New Group option is missing

Update Telegram. On iPhone, make sure you are on the Chats tab and tapping the new message icon, not the search. On Desktop, the option is in the main menu, not the chat list.

Someone was not added

Their privacy settings probably block being added by non-contacts. Send them the invite link Telegram offers, or share it yourself.

Telegram says the username is taken or invalid

Usernames are global: no group, channel, bot or person can share one. Try a variation. Avoid trademarks of other people's brands, which can be reclaimed.

Telegram says you have too many public links

Each account can only hold a limited number of public usernames for groups and channels. Free one by making an older group or channel private, or use a private invite link for the new group.

My public group does not appear in search

New public groups can take a while to appear, and search favours larger and more active chats. Check that the group is set to public and has a clear name.

Members say they cannot send messages

Check the permissions screen first. If sending messages or a type of media is switched off for members, only admins can post it. Then check slow mode, which makes members wait between messages, and whether a specific member has been restricted individually. If only new members are affected, look for a setting or bot that limits newcomers for their first period in the group.

I created the group on the wrong account

If you use more than one account, check which one is active before creating a group, because the creator becomes the owner. To fix it, add your other account to the group, make it an admin with full rights, and transfer ownership to it. Then leave with the first account or keep it as an admin.

Common mistakes

• Making a group public by default. Start private unless you want strangers. Switching to public later is easy.
• Leaving "add members" on in a public group. Spam accounts add other spam accounts.
• Giving every admin every right. Especially the right to add admins.
• No rules until something goes wrong. Rules posted after a dispute look like they target one person.
• Forgetting the description. In search results, a group with no description looks abandoned.
• Releasing a good username without thinking. Once released, someone else can take it.

What to do next

• Keep conversation going with regular prompts, polls and events, so the group does not depend on a few very active members.
• Prepare for growth with how to moderate a large Telegram group.
• Want more people to find it? You can submit your group to TGDirectory for free; every submission is reviewed by a person before it appears.

FAQ

How many people can be in a Telegram group?

Up to 200,000 members. Very large communities that only need admins to post can use a broadcast group or a channel instead.

Can I create a group without adding anyone?

Some versions let you skip adding members and create the group with only yourself, then invite people with a link. If your app requires at least one member, add a contact and remove them later, or create it on another device.

Is a Telegram group free to create?

Yes. Creating and running a group is free.

Can members see each other's phone numbers?

Only if each person's privacy settings show their number to everyone. Most people hide it. Members see names and usernames.

Can I change a group's name or link later?

Yes. Admins with the right permission can change the name, photo and description at any time. A public group's username can be changed in Group Type; the old link stops working.

What is the difference between deleting and leaving a group I created?

Leaving keeps the group running without you. Deleting it for everyone removes it entirely. See how to leave or delete a Telegram group.

Summary

Create a Telegram group from the new message button with New Group, add members, name it and create it. It starts private; switch to public in Edit, Group Type, by setting a username, and switch back the same way. Before inviting people, set the description, history visibility, member permissions, admins, join requests and rules. Choose private for known members and public for discovery, and remember that public groups need more moderation from the first day.