TikTok's New Group Chats: Just When You Thought You Could Escape

So, you told yourself you'd only hop on TikTok for "a quick scroll" to catch up on a couple of videos. Fast forward an hour later, and you're knee-deep in cucumber recipes, dog videos, and some guy explaining quantum physics in under 60 seconds. And now, just when you thought TikTok couldn't pull you any deeper, they've added something new: group chats. Because apparently, getting lost in the app alone wasn't enough—they want to make sure you can drag all your friends down with you.


Announced on Monday, TikTok finally jumped on the group chat bandwagon, letting you and up to 31 of your closest friends (or followers) share, chat, and dive into a collective time warp together. Whether you're sending that bizarre recipe video or the latest viral dance challenge, you no longer have to do it one friend at a time. Just throw it into the group chat and let the chaos arise.

The setup is pretty straightforward: open your inbox, hit the + button to create a new chat, and pick your group. Only mutual friends can be invited, so you won't be randomly added to some stranger's group chat. TikTok's also made sure that if your settings block DMs, you won't see those group chat invites either. Once in, you can name the chat, add more members, and, of course, share videos directly from your feed.

TikTok has been pretty mindful about not turning this feature into a spam-fest. They've put limits on how many groups you can create and how many times you can forward messages. Plus, they've carried over some of the app's safety tools like muting, blocking, and reporting to make sure group chats don't turn into a breeding ground for toxic behavior.

Of course, if you're under 15, this feature is off-limits. And for those aged 16 to 17, there are some additional hoops to jump through. TikTok's added a layer of protection where teens can only join a group if it includes a mutual friend, and they have to consciously decide to join. When a teen creates a group chat, they'll need to approve any new members.

So, there you have it—TikTok's latest way of keeping us all glued to our screens a little longer. Just remember, the next time you open the app "just for a minute," you might end up chatting about that minute with 31 other people.

Want to read this in Spanish? Spanish Version >>