Creating a Group

The guided setup wizard walks you through everything you need to get your group ready — group type, profile, features, look and feel, member profiles, and more.

Overview

New to Grūps App? Try the demo group first Every new account includes a pre-built Demo Group loaded with sample content across all features. Explore it to get a feel for how everything works before creating your own group. The demo lasts 90 days and doesn't count against your group limit. See Your demo group for details.

When you create a new group in Grūps App, it starts in Setup mode. During setup, the group is invisible to members — only you can see it. A guided wizard walks you through the configuration steps. When you're ready, you activate the group and it goes live.

You can complete as many or as few steps as you like before activating. The only required steps are Group Type, Group Profile, and Features — everything else can be changed later in Settings.

Returning to setup later You can re-run the guided setup wizard at any time from Group Settings → Guided Setup. Any changes you make are saved as you go.

Step 1: Group Type

Choose the type that best describes your group. Group type determines the member limit, the minimum plan required to create it, and how many admin slots are available to you on your plan.

Type	Best for	Member limit	Min. plan to admin
Family	Households, extended families, close-knit personal circles	Up to 10	Free
Standard	Friend groups, hobby circles, neighborhoods — any general-purpose community	Up to 25	Basic
Club	Sports teams, recreational leagues, interest-based clubs	Up to 125	Pro
Team	Work teams, project groups, school and parent groups	Up to 250	Team
Org	Larger organizations, nonprofits, associations, multi-team structures	Up to 500	Premium

Admin slots are per type, per plan Each plan includes a fixed number of groups you can be the admin of for each type:

Plan	Family	Standard	Club	Team	Org
Free	1	—	—	—	—
Basic	2	1	—	—	—
Pro	2	2	1	—	—
Team	2	2	2	1	—
Premium	2	2	2	2	1

Check Settings → My Limits to see your current slot usage. Group type cannot be changed after creation.

Live location tracking is not available for Club, Team, and Org groups These group types are too large for live GPS tracking to be reliable. Club, Team, and Org groups can use Check-in only location mode (members check in at events) but not live real-time tracking. Family and Standard groups support all location modes.

Step 2: Group Profile

The group profile is what members see when they open the group. Fill in:

Group Name (required) — the name displayed to all members throughout the app
Description (required) — a short explanation of what the group is, who it's for, and what members can expect
Profile Picture (optional) — a square image representing the group, shown as the group avatar across the app
Group Banner (optional) — a wide banner image displayed at the top of group pages. Works best as a landscape photo.

Step 3: Location Policy

Choose how location data will be used in this group. This is a permanent decision — the policy is set at group creation and cannot be changed afterward.

This setting cannot be changed after the group is created The location policy is locked at creation to give members informed, trustworthy consent. Members can rely on the policy never changing after they join.

Policy	What it means	Plan
No Location Privacy First	Members' locations are never collected or shared. No map, no check-ins, no geofences.	All plans
Check-in Only Event Verified	Members check in to events manually. No live tracking. Location data is deleted 24 hours after each event closes.	All plans
Live Tracking Always Connected	Members can share their real-time GPS location. Includes map view, location history, trips, and geofences. Each member controls their own sharing.	Depending on your plan

Club, Team, and Org groups cannot use Live Tracking These group types are too large for live GPS tracking to be reliable. If your group type is Club, Team, or Org, only No Location and Check-in Only are available.

Step 4: Features

Choose which features to enable for your group. You must enable at least one feature to proceed.

Feature	What it does	Min. plan
Group Chat	Real-time messaging between members	Free
Announcements & Posts	Pinned notices and longer-form content	Free
Calendar / Events	Shared calendar for group events	Free
Q&A	Organized question-and-answer subjects	Free
Recognitions	Send shoutouts and acknowledgements to members	Free
Task / Lists	Shared collaborative checklists	Free
Location Sharing	Live member location map	Free
Reservations	Event sign-ups and RSVP tracking	Free
Check-ins	Attendance tracking for events	Basic
Polls	Real-time voting on questions	Basic
Content Pages	Public web pages for your group	Basic
Photo Albums	Shared photo albums with reactions and tagging	Basic
Files	Shared document and file library	Pro
Bookings	Appointment scheduling for members	Pro

You can change this later Features can be enabled or disabled at any time from Group Settings → Features. Disabling a feature hides it from members but does not delete its data.

Step 5: Look & Feel

Customize the visual style of your group. Availability of some options may vary by plan.

Themes

Choose from a set of pre-built visual themes. Each theme applies a coordinated set of colors and styles to the group UI. Select a theme card to preview it — it applies immediately.

Custom colors

Override the theme with your own brand colors. Enable Custom Colors and set a primary color (buttons, links, actions) and a secondary color (accents and highlights). A live preview shows how your colors look before you save.

Custom icon settings

Adjust the size, weight, and style of icons used across the group.

Custom background

Set a custom background color for light and dark mode independently. Depending on your plan, you may also be able to choose a gradient background.

Step 6: Member Profiles

Configure what information members fill in when they join your group. Member profiles let you collect the details that matter to your specific group — contact info, team positions, dietary requirements, emergency contacts, or anything else.

You can:

Enable or disable standard built-in fields (name, email, phone, address, bio, etc.)
Add custom fields specific to your group
Mark any field as required
Control whether a field is visible to all members or only to admins

Member profiles can always be updated later from Group Settings → Member Profiles.

Step 7: Safety

Safety settings protect younger members in your group. Depending on your plan, one setting is available:

Require Parental Consent for Minors — when enabled, minor members must have parental consent before they can join the group. Turn this on if your group includes children or teenagers.

Step 8: Roles

Depending on your plan, you can define custom roles for your group — beyond the built-in Admin and Member roles. Custom roles let you grant specific permissions to trusted members without making them full admins.

Examples: Moderator, Coach, Treasurer, Content Manager.

Each custom role is given a name, a description, and a set of permission chips. You can create up to 10 custom roles per group. Roles can be assigned to members from the Members page.

Step 9: Review & Activate

The final step shows a read-only summary of everything you've configured:

Group name and description
Member profile fields configured (count of standard + custom fields)
Look and Feel status
Enabled features (list with icons)
Roles configured (if applicable)

Each section has an Edit link that jumps back to that step so you can make changes before going live.

When you're happy with the setup, tap Complete Setup & Activate Group. The group transitions from Setup to Active and is now visible to members.

Nothing is permanent Activating the group does not lock your settings. Everything configured in the wizard can be changed at any time from Group Settings. You can also return the group to Setup mode from the Lifecycle settings if needed.

Revisiting Setup

After your group is active, you can re-run the guided wizard at any time by opening Group Settings and tapping the Guided Setup card at the top. Each step shows your current configuration and lets you make adjustments.

Individual settings sections are also directly accessible from the Settings hub without going through the wizard — see Group Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I invite members before activating the group?

No. The group is invisible to non-admins while it's in Setup mode. Activate the group first, then invite members. See Managing Members for how to invite people.

What happens if I close the browser during setup?

Your changes are saved as you move between steps. When you return to the wizard, everything you entered will still be there.

Can I skip steps?

Yes. Only Group Profile and Features are required before you can activate. All other steps are optional during initial setup and can be configured later.

Can I change the group name after activating?

Yes. Go to Group Settings → Profile to update the name, description, or images at any time.

What's the difference between Setup and Active?

A group in Setup is only visible to its admin(s). It cannot send notifications or be joined by members. An Active group is fully operational — members can be invited, features are live, and notifications are sent.