Technologies

How to Get Out of Any Group Chat on iPhone or Android

You can leave (or at least silence) any conversation whether it’s using Apple’s iMessage, RCS or plan-old MMS.

One of the top reasons group chats are preferred on either Apple’s iMessage or RCS texting over Google Messages is the increased level of control and security both services allow. Whether you’re an iPhone owner and everyone in your group is texting from an Apple device, or you’re on team Android chatting with other Android users over RCS, your conversations have typing indicators, high-quality media sharing and, when you need your phone to buzz less, the ability to mute a conversation or outright leave it. Most importantly, iMessage and RCS group chats on Google Messages offer end-to-end encryption unless you’re in a thread with a mix of iPhone and Android phone owners.

And with RCS support with iOS 18, group chats that include a mix of iPhone and Android participants have more features than ever — but it’s not at the level you’ll experience when a conversation is fully on iMessage or Google Messages. «Green bubble chats» from an iPhone to an Android phone can now include typing indicators, higher-quality media and easier group chats.

However, RCS conversations between the iPhone and Android phones don’t include encryption now, but it should be added in a future update. This will hopefully give these conversations a similar level of privacy that we expect when using chat services like iMessage, WhatsApp or Signal.

For conversations that don’t use iMessage or RCS, group chats fall back to MMS, a decades-old texting standard compatible with all phones and carriers. However, it wasn’t built to include the messaging features we’ve become used to.

Regardless of how you’re in a group chat with others, you can leave a chat. Here are the steps to leave any conversation from your phone’s texting app, regardless of whether it’s happening on iMessage, RCS or as a mixed MMS chat.

Leaving group chats on an iPhone

You can leave group conversations on your iPhone in two ways. You can either mute a chat,which keeps you in a conversation but you no longer receive notifications about it, or you can outright leave and no longer have access to the chat.

On an iPhone, open Messages and go to the chat thread you want to leave. At the top of the screen are conversation controls, a group of icons with the participants. Tap this to open a pop-up menu. As long as your conversation has four or more participants, iOS gives you the ability to tap Leave this Conversation with red text. If your chat has three or fewer participants though, the option is grayed out, but you can tap Hide Alerts to prevent the conversation from notifying you further. Tapping Hide Alerts also allows you to mute a conversation, letting you keep access to a chat without necessarily leaving it. These steps apply to both iMessage conversations and to those over RCS.

Hide and block MMS chats on an iPhone

Although you can’t officially leave MMS group chats, you can hide or block the conversation. It’s not as good as outright leaving a conversation (other participants will still see you as in it), but you at least have no personal evidence of the conversation continuing.

On an iPhone, visit the group chat and tap the conversation controls. Instead of seeing Leave this conversation, you will see the option to Delete and Block this conversation. If you’d rather just mute the conversation instead of deleting and blocking it, you can hit Hide Alerts to mute it.

Leave group chats on an Android phone

On an Android phone using Google Messages, visit the chat thread you want to leave. Tap the conversation’s name to bring up the Group Details menu. Within this menu is the Leave Group button. Unlike with iMessage, you can leave chats with as few as three participants.

If you want to just mute notifications, tap Notifications on the Group Details screen to bring up a window with notifications controls. This includes options to make the conversation stay Silent to prevent it from ringing your chat, and if you tap Lock Screen, a pop-up menu will give you the option to prevent notifications. Tap Don’t show notifications at all to enable.

Hide and block MMS chats on an Android phone

On an Android phone with Google Messages, follow the same steps to access options for controlling notifications. This includes visiting the MMS chat thread and then tapping either the name of the conversation or the names of the participants at the top to bring up the Group Details menu. You won’t see a Leave Group option like you did with an RCS thread, but you do get the same ability to tap Notifications to access controls for hiding the conversation. This includes the same options for turning the conversation to Silent and to select Don’t show notifications at all.

SMS vs. MMS vs. RCS

SMS stands for Short Message Service and debuted in 1992. Text messages are limited to 160 characters. MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service and supports sending photos, videos or other files and messages longer than 160 characters. MMS supports a group of people chatting in a single conversation thread, while SMS can text multiple people at once but is sent as individual messages to each person. RCS, which launched 15 years ago, is short for Rich Communication Services and can show typing indicators, read receipts and has end-to-end encryption.

While cross-platform chat apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram have better controls for conversations, encryption and privacy, regardless of the type of phone participants are using, they don’t support SMS, MMS or RCS. That’s why the default messaging app on most phones is still widely used, even if it means that a group chat is on a less feature-filled, unsecured standard like MMS.

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Technologies

Fortnite Is Making Its Way Back to the Apple App Store

A California court bans Apple from collecting developer fees on web transactions, giving the massively popular game a chance to return.

Fortnite has been in and out of the Apple App Store multiple times over the years as its parent company, Epic Games, and Apple battle it out over developer fees. But on Wednesday, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced that the legendary game was once again on its way back to the Apple App Store.

«We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week,» Sweeney wrote on X. «Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.»

Read more: The 15 Best PC Games Right Now

That litigation is exactly why Fortnite is making its return. Earlier Wednesday, the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Apple’s behavior toward web transactions was in bad faith and anticompetitive. Sweeney also posted about this on X shortly before the Fortnite announcement.

«For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds Apple in willful violation of this Court’s 2021 Injunction which issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing,» court documents read. «Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.»

The battle goes back years

In 2021, Epic Games and Apple went to court. Apple largely won that court battle, but didn’t walk away unscathed. A federal judge also ordered Apple to remove its anti-steering barriers, meaning the company must allow apps downloaded from the App Store to steer customers to third-party means.

From the archives: Apple Scores Legal Win Over Epic in Fortnite Lawsuit

Apple appealed the decision later in 2021, with proceedings continuing through 2022 and into 2023. Apple eventually won the appeal. However, the court upheld its anti-steering ruling from 2021 in the process.

When Epic took Apple back to court in 2025, the company pointed out that Apple hadn’t complied with the original ruling in 2021. The judge agreed and is now forcing Apple to follow the rules to the letter. This includes not charging developers for non-App Store payment methods and allowing developers to tell people that such third-party options and platforms exist. The time frame is simple enough. Apple is to comply with these new rules immediately.

Epic Games also has lawsuits against Google and Samsung, seeking to achieve the same result for users of Google Play.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, May 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 1.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword pulls that crossword trick where two clues are the same, but the answers are different. 5-Across and 1-Down both offer the clue, «Marvel’s ‘The Avengers,’ e.g.» But if you know anything about that franchise, you know the different mediums it uses, so the answers aren’t too tough. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Question that looks like today’s date.
Answer: MAYI

5A clue: Marvel’s «The Avengers,» e.g.
Answer: COMIC

6A clue: Bring to mind
Answer: EVOKE

7A clue: Like notebook paper
Answer: LINED

8A clue: An Australian millipede holds the record for the most in the animal kingdom, at 1,306
Answer: LEGS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Marvel’s «The Avengers,» e.g.
Answer: MOVIE

2D clue: Surrounded by
Answer: AMONG

3D clue: «That is not good!»
Answer: YIKES

4D clue: Like some coffee orders
Answer: ICED

5D clue: Where to find ribosomes and mitochondria
Answer: CELL

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

It’s Gonna Be Meme: Justin Timberlake’s Iconic May Joke Turns 25

April showers bring … meme flowers? «It’s Gonna Be Me» by *NSYNC is the real sign that May has arrived.

Quick, what month is it going to be? It’s gonna be May. And it’s gonna be that time when a certain *NSYNC song becomes the meme you just can’t escape.

It’s Gonna Be Me is a hit song released by boy band *NSYNC back in 2000 — 25 years ago this May. In it, singer Justin Timberlake doesn’t actually sing, «It’s gonna be May,» instead, he sings, «It’s gonna be me,» but his Tennessee accent and the spin he puts on the word make it sound like he’s welcoming in the year’s fifth month.

So on April 30 every year, the day right before it’s gonna be May, the *NSYNC video gets a spike in YouTube views, and the memes start flying. In 2014, even then-President Barack Obama joked about it on Facebook, sharing a photo of himself and Timberlake.

‘Memes last forever’

Members of *NSYNC recently spoke about the meme on NBC’s Today.

«‘It’s Going to Be May’ time is always the gift that keeps on giving,» said bandmember Lance Bass.

Bass credits the younger generations for keeping his song alive.

«It’s the kids out there. They’re doing it,» Bass said on Today. «I mean, memes last forever. Thank goodness. Who knew 25 years from now so remembered out of the way Justin pronounced ‘me’? Thanks, Justin!»

Timberlake himself has joked about it. On the last day of April 2020, he tweeted a photo of his COVID-masked self with the «It’s gonna be May» caption.

«Thanks for this, Internet,» Timberlake wrote in the tweet.