How to Make a Group Chat in Microsoft Teams: Easy Steps

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Start a group chat or private channel for collaboration in Teams

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: March 24, 2026 Fact Checked

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Create a Group Chat (Desktop)

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Create a Group Chat (Mobile)

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Create a Private Channel (Desktop)

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Create a Private Channel (Mobile)

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Do you want to chat with multiple people in Teams without taking up space on your main channel? Fortunately, creating a group chat in Teams is simple. Alternatively, you can create a private channel for your group in Teams. In this article, we'll go over how to create a group chat and private channel in Teams, on both desktop and mobile. Keep reading to learn how.

Creating a Group in Teams

To create a group chat, simply start a new chat and add multiple people in the "To" line. You can add people by searching for their name or email address. Alternatively, you can create a private channel to make a group in Teams.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Create a Group Chat (Desktop)

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1
Click the new chat button. It's in the upper-right corner of the left-hand sidebar that lists all of your chats. The icon looks like a square with a line coming out of it.
- You can use this method to create a group on Teams on your Windows PC or Mac.
2
Add all the people you want to send the message to. In the "To" field, type the names or email addresses of all the people you want to add to the group.

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3
Type a message. In the message field at the bottom of the chat window, type the first message that will be sent to the group.
4
Press ↵ Enter to send the message and create the group. The message will be visible to everyone in the group.^{[1]
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- To add more people to the group, click the person icon with a plus sign in the upper-right corner, then click Add people.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Create a Group Chat (Mobile)

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1
Tap New message. It's in the bottom-right corner of the Teams app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.
2
Type the name, phone number, or email of the people you want to add. Repeat until you've added all the people you want to add to the group chat.
- Tap Next to move to the next screen.
3
Type the message you want to send. Once you're done, tap Send. This will create the group chat and send the message to everyone you included in the group.^{[2]
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- To add more people to the group, tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner and tap Add to chat. You can then type the name, email, or phone number of the person you want to add. Tap Done when you're done adding people.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Create a Private Channel (Desktop)

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1
Click ••• next to the team name. Make sure you're on the Teams tab, and locate the team you want to create a channel from.
2
Click Add channel. A pop-up window will appear.
3
Name the channel. Under the "Channel name" header, you'll see the option to name your channel. Letters, numbers, and spaces are allowed, but special characters are not.
4
Add a description (optional). Under the channel name, you can type up a description. This isn't required to create the channel, but it can help others know they've found the correct channel.
5
Set the channel privacy to private. Private channels can only be seen by those invited to them.
- Note that over the life of a Team, only 30 private channels can be created.
6
Click Create. It's at the bottom of the pop-up.
7
Invite people to the channel. You can add more people later, but if you know who you need to add right now, type their name(s) into the field on this screen, then click Add. Repeat until you've added everyone that you need to add.^{[3]
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- If you don't want to add anyone, click Skip at the bottom of the screen.
- Once you've added everyone, click Done. The channel has now been created.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Create a Private Channel (Mobile)

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Make sure you're on the Teams tab and that you've located the team you want to add a channel to.
2
Tap Manage channels. It's in the menu that pops up at the bottom of the screen, and it has an icon that looks like a rectangle with lines.
3
Tap the + button. It's in the upper-right corner.
4
Name your channel. Under the "Channel name" header, you'll see the option to name your channel. Letters, numbers, and spaces are allowed, but special characters are not.
5
Give the channel a fitting description (optional). Under the channel name, you can type up a description. This isn't required to create the channel, but it can help others know they've found the correct channel.
6
Set the channel privacy to private. Private channels can only be seen by those invited to them.
- Note that over the life of a Team, only 30 private channels can be created.
7
Tap Done. It's in the upper-right corner.
8
Invite people to the channel. If you know who you need to add right now, type their name(s) into the field on this screen, then tap Add. Repeat until you've added everyone that you need to add.^{[4]
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- If you don't want to add anyone, tap Skip.
- Once you've added everyone, tap Done. The channel has now been created.