Groups knowledge base

Groups can be created with anyone in your contact list and also with people who aren't, as long as you have their phone number*.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Tap Compose  (Android)  (iOS)
4. Tap New group or community
5. Select the contacts you would like to form a group with
6. Tap the Checkmark  (Android) or Next (iOS) to confirm
7. Tap on the Camera to add a group icon (optional)
   
   • You can either take a new photo or select one from your gallery
8. Tap on Name your group and enter the name of your group
9. Tap on Create Group (Android) or Done (iOS) in the top corner to confirm

*To add someone who isn't saved in your contact list:
Enter the person's phone number using the international format in the search bar

• +(country code)(area code, without leading 0's)(phone number)
• Tap on the phone number to select and add it to the group

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Click Compose  next to the Search bar
3. Click on New group
4. Select the contacts you would like to form a group with
   • Name your group (optional)
5. Click Start chat

To add someone who isn't saved in your contact list:

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Tap Compose  (Android)  (iOS)
4. Tap New group 
5. Enter the person's phone number using the international format in the search bar
   • +(country code)(area code, without leading 0's)(phone number)
6. Tap on the phone number to select and add it to the group
   • People who don't have Rakuten Viber will be prompted to download the app

IMPORTANT

• Keep Rakuten Viber spam-free: always make sure to ask for permission before adding someone to a group
• If the person you are trying to add doesn't have you saved in their contact list, they might not be added to the group. See the article Who can add me to groups for more information

Anyone in the group can change the group name.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap on the Pen icon (top corner)
6. Tap on the current group name under the group icon
   • If you haven't chosen a group name yet, you will see Group
7. Enter a new group name
8. Tap Done

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click on the current group name under the group icon
   • If you haven't chosen a group name yet, you will see Group
5. Type in a new group name
6. Click on the Checkmark to confirm

Anyone in the group can change the group icon.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap on the Pen  icon (top corner)
6. Tap the Camera 
7. Choose your group icon from either your Gallery  or by taking a photo with your Camera 
8. Tap Done once you select an image from your Gallery
9. Tap and scroll to reposition the preview box over the part of the image that you want to use as your group icon
   • To resize, pinch the image to zoom in and out (iOS only)
10. Tap Done

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click on the current group icon above the group name
   • If you haven't chosen a group icon yet, you will see an image placeholder
5. Select an image that is already saved on your computer
6. Click on the preview box and move it over the part of the image that you want to use as your group icon
   • You can resize the preview box by clicking and dragging the corners of the box
7. Click Done
   • To change the image, click Select new
   • To exit out of creating a new icon, click on the X

When you create a group you will automatically become the group admin. The primary role of an admin is to moderate the group and be the main point of contact for other members. Admins can also remove participants from the group and assign the role of admin to other members.

To add an admin, you will need to be an admin of the group yourself.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats
3. Select a group that you are an admin for
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Under Participants, tap on the person you want to make an admin
6. Tap Add as admin

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group that you are an admin for
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click Participants
5. Click Add next to Chat admins
6. Select the person you want to make an admin
7. Click Save

Or, after Step 4, right-click on the person you want to make an admin and click Add as admin.

IMPORTANT
Once someone is an admin, they can remove you as an admin, remove you from the group, and delete the group (even if you created it).

To remove an admin, you will need to be an admin of the group yourself.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group that you are an admin for
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Under Participants, tap on the person you want to remove as an admin
6. Tap Remove as admin

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group that you are an admin for
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click Participants
5. Right-click on the person you want to remove as an admin
6. Click Remove as admin

To completely remove the participant from the group, click/tap Remove from chat in the last step (instead of Remove as admin).

Follow the same steps if you want to remove yourself as an admin.

If the sole admin of a group leaves without adding a new admin, the group will be left with zero admins. To establish yourself as the new admin of the group:

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group that has zero admins
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Under Participants, tap Add me as admin

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group that has zero admins
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click Participants
5. Click Add me as admin

A list of group participants is available on the group's Info screen. From this screen you can also call or message a participant by selecting their name, and you can also add more members. If you are an admin, you can remove a person from the group or make them an admin.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info

The full list of participants will be displayed in the bottom half of the Info page. You will also see the total number of participants and which members are admins.

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click on Participants
   • The total number of participants will be displayed next to the word Participants

Once you click on Participants, you will see a list that will be divided between admins and other group members.

To find a specific person, type their name into the search bar after you click Participants.

To help keep Rakuten Viber spam-free, make sure you have everyone's permission before adding them to a group. If the person you are trying to add doesn't have you saved in their contact list, they may not be added to the group. See the article Who can add me to groups for more information.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select the group that you would like to add a new member to
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap Add participants 
6. Select the person you want to add to the group
7. Tap Done (top corner)

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select the group that you would like to add a new member to
3. Click on the Add participant icon (top corner)
4. Select the person you want to add to the group
5. Click Save

Anyone can join your group using your group link. Share the link in places such as your website to find more members:

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Select the group for which you need a link
3. Tap More (bottom corner)
4. Tap Share link (only available to admins)

Choose from one of the available options:

Invite via Rakuten Viber (Android)/Send via Rakuten Viber (iOS): select groups, communities, and contacts to share your group link with.

Copy link: copy the link to your clipboard. You will receive the option to add a profile picture and will need to create a group name if you don't have one already when you copy the link.

Share group: share your group link outside of Rakuten Viber. If someone who doesn't have Rakuten Viber opens the link, they will be prompted to download the Rakuten Viber app (only Rakuten Viber users can join groups on Rakuten Viber).

Disable group link: cancel existing group links and create a new one. Use this option if you lose track of who has access to your group link or don't want anyone with the current link to join the group.

Only an admin can remove another participant. Once a person is removed from the chat, they will no longer receive or be able to send messages in the group.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group that you are an admin for
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Under Participants, tap on the person you want to remove
6. Tap Remove from chat

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group that you are an admin for
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click Participants
5. Click on the X next to the name of the person that you want to remove
6. Click Remove from chat

If you re-add someone to a group after they have been removed, they will not see the messages sent between the time they were removed and added back into the group.

You can send a private message to another group participant directly from the group chat.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Tap on the profile picture of the person you want to send a message to
5. Tap Send message

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Find the person you want to send a message to under the list of Participants
6. Tap on their name
7. Tap Message (person's name)
   • To call the person, tap Call (person's name)

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Click on the profile picture of the person you want to send a message to

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Hover over the name of the person you want to send a message to
4. Click on the Message icon
   • To call the person click on the Call  icon
5. The number of participants will appear under the group's name (e.g. 5 participants). Click on it to view the group's member list

Reply to a message sent in a group privately, in a 1on1 chat:

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone or desktop
   • Tap on Chats  (phone)
2. Select a group
3. Long tap or right-click on the message to which you want to reply privately
4. Select Reply privately

You will be redirected to your 1-on-1 chat with the person to whom you are replying. Once you enter your message and send it, the message will appear as a reply to the message from the group.

To cancel the reply, tap/click on the X.

After you reply, you can tap on the original message to return to it in the group chat.

Too many messages sent at the same time can make a group chat messy and confusing. Make sure everyone knows what you are responding to by replying to a specific message.

Phone

1. Open Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Swipe right on the message you want to reply to

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Long tap on the message you want to reply to
5. Select Reply from the list of options

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Right-click on the message you want to reply to
4. Select Reply from the list of options

Type your message as you normally would, and it will appear as a reply once you send it.

Changed your mind? Click/tap on the X to cancel the reply.

If you want to direct a message to a specific member(s) of the group, you can mention them in your message.

Mentioning lets everyone in the conversation know who you're talking to and also sends the person you mentioned a notification of your message, even if they muted the group.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. In the message bar, type @ and select the person(s) you want to mention
5. Write your message as usual

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. In the message bar, type @ and select the person(s) you want to mention
4. Write your message as usual

To notify everyone in a group, simply type “@all” as a part of the message.

Note: using @all mentions will send push notifications to all participants.

@All mention notifications can only be disabled on desktop:

1. Click your profile picture in the top-left corner
2. Click Settings
3. Click Notifications
4. Click on Mentions to disable

Note: Disabling mentions will also disable notifications where only you are mentioned.

@all can only be used in groups.

Let other group members know if you agree with something in the conversation by reacting to a message: tap/click on the heart next to a message to show that you like it.

For more reaction options (lol , shock , sadness , anger ), long tap the heart and select the reaction you want to express, or hover your cursor over the heart and click on the reaction if you're on your desktop.

You can see how many people reacted to each message under the heart.

Find out who's seen messages sent to your group and if they have had any reactions to them.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group
4. Long tap on a message
5. Tap Info

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group
3. Right-click on a message
4. Click on Info

The first tab will display who has seen your message and at what time. Select the other tabs to see reactions.

Please note that every member of the group can see reactions and 'seen' timestamps for each message.

Polls are a fast way to find out what members of your group want.

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone or desktop
2. Select the Poll icon at the bottom of the screen
3. Type in your question in the Ask a question section
4. Type in possible answers in the Add option sections
   • Select the Plus  button to add more options (up to 10 in total)
   • You can move the position of the options by clicking on the Reorder icon and dragging it up or down
5. Select Create at the bottom of the page

Group members can select their answer by clicking on the heart at the end of the option's line. Simply choose another option to change your response.

The poll results are displayed with the number of votes under each heart, the total number of votes at the bottom of the poll, and as a percentage of all votes, under each option.

The poll creator can see who voted for which option by clicking/tapping on each option. Other group members can only see their chosen option and what percentage of the group voted for each option.

IMPORTANT
Once you create a poll, neither you nor other group members can add more options.

Unlike polls, quizzes have a correct answer and can only be answered once by group participants.

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone or desktop
2. Select the Poll icon
3. Slide the switch next to Quiz mode (the light bulb will change color to indicate Quiz mode)
4. Type in your question in the Ask a question section
5. Type in possible answers in the Add option sections
   • Select the Plus  button to add more answers (up to 10 in total)
   • You can move the position of the answers by clicking on the Reorder icon and dragging it up or down
6. Select the correct answer
   • Optional: add an explanation for the answer
7. Select Create at the bottom of the page

Group members can select their answer by clicking on the heart at the end of the answer line. If their answer is correct, they will see a green tick; if their answer is wrong, they will see a red cross. If available, the answer explanation will be shown after an answer is submitted. Once submitted, answers cannot be changed.

The creator of the quiz can see how everyone answered by clicking/tapping on each answer. Other group members can only see their own answers and the percentage of the group that selected each answer.

Mute a group to stop receiving message notifications. You will still see New message alerts next to the group in the chat list unless you Snooze the group.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group you want to mute
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap on the switch next to Mute chat
6. Select for how long you want to mute the group (not available on iOS)

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Long tap (Android)/swipe left (iOS) on the name of the group that you want to mute
4. Tap Mute
5. Select for how long you want to mute the group (not available on iOS)

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Right-click on the group you want to mute
3. Click on Mute
4. Select how long you want to mute the group for
5. Click OK

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group you want to mute
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click on Mute group
5. Select how long you want to mute the group for
6. Click OK

You can choose to mute a group for:

• 1 hour
• 8 hours
• 24 hours
• Always

Unless Always is chosen, the group will automatically be unmuted when your selected time frame ends.

To manually unmute a group, follow the same steps, but click/tap Unmute instead of Mute at the end.

Snoozing a group will bring the group chat to the bottom of the chat list and mute all message notifications for 30 days.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select a group you want to put on snooze
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   • Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap Snooze for 30 days

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select a group you want to put on snooze
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click on Snooze for 30 days

To unsnooze the group follow the same instructions, selecting Unsnooze in the last step.

If you no longer wish to be in a group, you can leave it and delete it from your chat list. Leaving a group does not delete the group itself or impact anyone still in the group, even if you are an admin.

To go back into the group, someone will need to re-add you. Once you are back in the group, you will not see any messages you previously sent, including those you sent when you were in the group.

Phone

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Select the group you want to leave
4. Tap Info (Android) or the name of the group (iOS) at the top of the screen
   1. Android: tap on Chat info
5. Tap Leave and delete
6. Confirm that you want to Leave and delete

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
2. Tap on Chats 
3. Long tap (Android)/swipe left (iOS) on a group you want to leave
4. Tap Delete
5. Confirm that you want to Leave and delete

Desktop

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Select the group you want to leave
3. Click on the Info icon
4. Click Leave and delete at the bottom of the screen
5. Confirm that you want to Leave and delete

OR

1. Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
2. Right-click on the group you want to leave
3. Click Leave and delete
4. Confirm that you want to Leave and delete

To permanently close a group, an admin must first remove all other group participants and then leave and delete the group themselves.