Send a message to a group or business on iPhone

Use the Messages app to send photos, videos, and audio messages to groups of people. You can reply to specific messages inline, and mention people in a conversation. You can also send a message to participating businesses.

Watch together with your friends in FaceTime

Using SharePlay in iOS 15.1 and later, you can stream movies and TV shows while on a FaceTime call with friends. With synced playback and shared controls, you see and hear the reactions of others on the call. The volume automatically adjusts, so you can keep talking while you watch.

Note: Some apps that support SharePlay require a subscription. To watch a purchased movie or TV show together, all SharePlay participants must have purchased the item. Some movies and TV shows may not be available to SharePlay across different countries or regions. FaceTime, some FaceTime features, and other Apple services may not be available in all countries or regions.

See Use SharePlay to watch and listen together in FaceTime on iPhone.

Reply to a specific message in a conversation

You can respond to a specific message inline in group or individual conversations to improve clarity and help keep the conversation organized.

In a conversation, double-tap (or touch and hold) a message, then tap .
Write your response, then tap .

Mention people in a conversation

You can mention other people in a conversation to call their attention to a specific message. Depending on their settings, this can notify them even if they have muted the conversation.

In a conversation, begin typing a contact’s name in the text field.
Tap the contact’s name when it appears.
You can also mention a contact in Messages by typing @ followed by the contact’s name.
To change your notification settings for when you’re mentioned in Messages, go to Settings > Messages > Notify Me.

Change a group name and photo

The photo used for group conversations includes all participants and changes based on who was recently active. You can also assign a personalized photo to the group conversation.

Tap the name or number at the top of the conversation, select Change Name and Photo, then choose an option.

Send a message to a business

In Messages, you can communicate with participating businesses. You can get answers to questions, resolve issues, get advice on what to buy, make purchases with Apple Pay, and more.

Search for the business you want to chat with using Maps, Safari, Search, or Siri.
Start a conversation by tapping a chat link in the search results, the company logo, or a text link (the appearance of the chat link varies with the context).
You can also initiate a chat with some businesses from their website or iOS app. See the Apple Support article How to use Messages for Business.

Note: Messages sent to participating businesses appear in dark gray, to distinguish them from messages sent using iMessage (in blue) and SMS/MMS messages (in green).

Helpful?

iPhone User Guide