New to Discord, or maybe just unfamiliar with its group chat features? No problem, we’re going to cover everything gamers need to know to start sharing messages with friends without the need for a server.
Start by going to the Home or DMs screen of Discord by clicking the icon in the very upper right, indicated in the picture below as #1.
Once you’re on that page, click the Friends tab to open your friend list, and then you should see, near the opposite side of the program with the friend list open, a speech bubble with a plus sign, indicated below as #2.
Click that, and you’ll see a friend list so you can select who to add to your group DM (Direct Message), or group chat.
Put checks next to the friends you want to add to the new group chat, then click Create Group DM.
Want to Add More Friends?
You can always, at any point, add more friends to your group DM by clicking the icon that looks like a person with a plus sign along the top of the app window—when you mouse over it, it should say “Add Friends to DM” in a popup.
It’s similar to when you first created the group DM—plus an option to create a link which will automatically add anyone who clicks it to the group chat!
This is handy if you’re not already friends on Discord with the people you want to add to your group DM–just send the invite (or invites) to their email address or drop it in a Discord server you both use.
And if you’re not sure how to add friends to Discord, refer back to the instructions for getting to the Friends page near the beginning—you’ll notice that on the same row as the New Group DM button, there’s a big green Add Friend button.
Customization
So, you know how to make a group chat in Discord now.
The next step is how to make a group on Discord be exactly what you want it to be. While the system isn’t as robust as full Discord servers, it’s useful for people who don’t need the full server experience.
Want to give it a proper name instead of it just being named after the people in the group? While you have the group DM open ( it’s listed with your other DMs or Direct Messages) you’ll see the current name—probably just a list of names with commas–at the top of the app, next to a little person icon.
You can simply click on this and type whatever name you like in, hit enter, and you’re done. Maybe tag it NSFW if it’s going to be, so someone doesn’t get in trouble.
If you want to add a note for someone to see at any time about what the group is for, or a set of rules, or anything else, you can do that via pinned DMs. Type up your message and send it like a normal chat entry, then mouse over it, click the three dots “More” button, and choose “Pin Message”.
You’ll get a confirmation and then it’ll be added to the pinned messages list, accessible to someone reading the group chat by clicking the push pin icon at the top of the app.
That’s all there is to it. You know how to start a group chat on Discord, and if you already know how to use other Discord features like voice call, video calls, streaming, you’ll find all of it is compatible with the group DM system.
Click the phone icon to start a group call, click the camera icon to start a video call (with streaming options), etc.
Do note that any group calls will call all of the people on the list, and that they can’t host as many users as a server.
