Managing chat channels


After creating a Team Chat channel, the channel owner can utilize some management tools, such as assigning admins to help moderate the channel, deleting messages in the channel, controlling who can post in a channel, and set up mention groups, which will tag multiple users by mentioning the group.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for managing chat channels

Managing posting permissions

Multiple channel admins

Delete messages and mention groups

How to manage a chat channel

Assign channel admins

After a chat channel has been created, the channel owner can designate up to 50 channel members to be an admin for that channel. Admins have most of the same channel permissions and controls as the channel owner, except for deleting the channel, editing the channel type and privacy settings, and replacing the owner of the channel.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
  3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
  4. Just below the list of current channel members, click View All Members.
    The full list of channel members will open. Members with admin permissions will be indicated with either (Owner) or (Admin) beside their name.
  5. Hover your cursor over the member you want to promote, and click the ellipsis icon .
  6. Click Assign as Admin.
    You will be prompted to confirm the assignment.
  7. Click Assign to confirm.

Add or remove members

Additional members can be added or removed by the channel owner. 

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab .
  3. Click the chat channel or group chat. 
  4. In the top-right corner, click More Actions.
  5. To add an additional contact as a member: 
    1. Next to the Members section, click the plus button .
      A window will appear to search for and add members.
    2. Use the search box to search for users, select one or more users you want to invite.
    3. Click Add to confirm the additions.
  6.  To remove a member from the channel or group chat: 
    1. Below the shortened list of members, click View All Members
    2. Hover over a contact's name to view additional options. 
    3. Click the ellipsis icon and then click Remove

Edit a channel's posting permissions

Channel admins may want to change posting permissions, controlling which users can post messages to this channel. This is ideal for announcement channels, where responses or follow-up questions may be unwanted.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
  3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
  4. Click More Options to open that menu and select Edit Channel.
  5. Click Advanced Permissions to view additional options. 
  6. Under Who can send messages, select which channel members are allowed to post in the channel: 
    • Everyone: All channel members can post in the channel.
    • Owner and admins, plus specific people: Only the channel owner, designated admins, and specified members can post in the channel.
    • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can post in the channel.
  7. Click Save to confirm the changes.

Control use of @all mentions

While useful in certain channels and situations, the @all mention can be distracting when used in the wrong channel. Channel admins may want to restrict, or even disable entirely, the use of the @all mention. 

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
  3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
  4. Click More Options to open that menu and select Edit Channel.
  5. Click Advanced Permissions to view additional options.
  6. Under Who can use @all , select which channel members are allowed to use the @all mention in the channel: 
    • Everyone: All channel members can use the @all mention in the channel.
    • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can use the @all mention in the channel.
    • Disable @all for this channel: Disable the use of the @all mention for this channel. Use of @ mentions for specific users or defined mention groups, are unaffected. 
  7. Click Save to confirm the changes.

Create a mention group

In order to @ mention multiple members at once, admins can create mention groups. When configured, all channel members can @ mention the custom name and all associated members are tagged as if they were @ mentioned. Up to 100 members can be added to a mention group, and each channel supports up to 10 mention groups.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
  3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
  4. In the Mention Groups section, click the plus icon .
  5. Provide the following information for the new mention group:
    • Mention Group Name
    • Description: This optional field allows you to provide more details about this mention group, such as distinguishing from another similar mention group.
    • Add Members: Search for and select channel members you want to include in this mention group. Contacts must be current members of the chat channel.
  6. Click Add to save this mention group.

    Once set, all channel members can @ mention the name of the group to @ all associated members.

Delete any message in a channel

As the channel owner or admin, you can delete any messages sent in the channel you admin, while standard channel members can only delete their own sent messages. This can be useful when moderating a larger channel or helping take care of accidental messages sent by others.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Click the Team Chat tab , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
  3. To the right of the message you want to remove, click the ellipsis icon .
  4. From the menu, click Remove.
    You will be prompted to confirm the removal.
  5. Click Remove to confirm.

Note: Account admins can still view the removed message in chat history reports.

Assign channel admins

After a chat channel has been created, the channel owner can designate up to 50 channel members to be an admin for that channel. Admins have most of the same channel permissions and controls as the channel owner, except for deleting the channel, editing the channel type and privacy settings, and replacing the owner of the channel.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat tab.
  3. In the top-right corner, tap the info icon .
  4. Tap Members.
    The full list of channel members will open. Members with admin permissions will be indicated with either (Owner) or (Admin) beside their name.
  5. Long-tap the member you want to promote.
    Additional options will appear.
  6. Tap Assign as Admin.
    You will be prompted to confirm the assignment.
  7. Click Assign to confirm.

Add or remove members

Additional members can be added or removed by the channel owner. 

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat tab.
  3. In the top-right corner, tap the info icon .
  4. Tap Members.
  5. To add an additional contact as a member: 
    1. In the top-right corner, click the add contact icon .
      A window will appear to search for and add members.
    2. Use the search box to search for users, select one or more users you want to invite.
    3. Click Ok to confirm the addition(s).
  6.  To remove a member from the channel or group chat: 
    1. Long-tap a contact's name to view additional options. 
    2. Click Remove from this channel

Edit a channel's posting permissions

Channel admins may want to change posting permissions, controlling which users can post messages to this channel. This is ideal for announcements channels, where responses or follow-up questions may be unwanted.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat  tab.
  3. Find and tap to open the channel you want to edit.
  4. In the top-right corner, tap the info icon .
  5. Tap More Options.
  6. Tap Advanced Permissions to view additional settings. 
  7. Under the Who can send messages section, select which channel members are allowed to post in the channel.
    • Everyone: All channel members can post in the channel.
    • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and assigned admins can post in the channel.
    • Owner, admins, plus specific people: Only the channel owner, assigned admins, and specified members can post in the channel.

Control use of @all mentions

While useful in certain channels and situations, the @all mention can be distracting when used in the wrong channel. Channel admins may want to restrict, or even disable entirely, the use of the @all mention. 

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat  tab.
  3. Find and tap to open the channel you want to edit.
  4. In the top-right corner, tap the info icon .
  5. Tap More Options.
  6. Tap Advanced Permissions to view additional settings. 
  7. Under Who can use @all , select which channel members are allowed to use the @all mention in the channel: 
    • Everyone: All channel members can use the @all mention in the channel.
    • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can use the @all mention in the channel.
    • Disable @all for this channel: Disable the use of the @all mention for this channel. Use of @ mentions for specific users or defined mention groups, are unaffected. 

View mention groups

In order to @ mention multiple members at once, admins can create mention groups. When configured, all channel members can @ mention the custom name and all associated members are tagged as if they were @ mentioned. Up to 100 members can be added to a mention group, and each channel supports up to 10 mention groups.

Note: Mention groups can currently only be configured on the desktop client, while admins on the mobile app can view and join existing mention groups. Mentioning groups is supported

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat  tab.
  3. In the top-right corner, tap the info icon .
  4. Below the Add Members option, tap Mention Groups.
    All existing mention groups for this channel are displayed.
  5. Tap Join to add yourself to the list of channel members to mention.

Delete any message in a channel

As the channel owner or admin, you can delete any messages sent in the channel you admin, while standard channel members can only delete their own sent messages. This can be useful when moderating a larger channel or helping take care of accidental messages sent by others.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
  2. Tap the Team Chat  tab.
  3. Find and long-tap the message you want to remove.
  4. From the menu, tap Remove.
    You will be prompted to confirm the removal.
  5. Tap Remove to confirm.

Details on how channels are ordered in the chat panel 

Channels on the desktop client can be organized by sections (folders, 1:1 and group chats, channels, meeting chats, etc), or organized by folders, with those not assigned to a folder being listed under Recents

With either organization, channels are listed dynamically based on last modification or notification. This means when a channel receives a new notification it is moved to the top of the list in that section. This behavior can be changed through the Organize by section and Keep all unread messages on top in chat and channel lists settings on the desktop client

Folder organization

Group chats, 1:1s, and other channels within a folder are listed by when they were added to the folder, unless manually re-ordered. Any new channels added to a folder are added to the bottom of the list.