Delete A Group

Guide to deleting groups using the CometChat iOS SDK deleteGroup method (admin only).

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

• Delete group: CometChat.deleteGroup(GUID:onSuccess:onError:)
• Permission: Only group admin can delete
• Related: Create Group · Leave Group · Groups Overview

To delete a group you need to use the deleteGroup() method. The user must be an Admin of the group they are trying to delete.

Swift

let GUID = "GUID";

CometChat.deleteGroup(GUID: GUID, onSuccess: { (response) in

  print("Group deleted successfully.")

}) { (error) in

  print("Group delete failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

Objective C

NSString *guid = @"cometchat-guid-101";

[CometChat deleteGroupWithGUID:guid onSuccess:^(NSString * response) {

    NSLog(@"Group deleted successfully.");

} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {

    NSLog(@"Group deletion failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);

}];

The deleteGroup() method takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description
GUID	The GUID of the group you would like to delete

Sample Payload - deleteGroup() Request

Method Signature:

Parameter	Type	Description
GUID	String	Unique group identifier to delete. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"
onSuccess	(String) -> Void	Success callback with response message
onError	(CometChatException?) -> Void	Error callback with exception details

Request Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
GUID	String	The unique identifier of the group to delete. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"

Prerequisites:

Requirement	Description
User logged in	User must be authenticated via CometChat.login()
Admin permission	User must be the admin/owner of the group
Valid GUID	Group with specified GUID must exist

Sample Payload - deleteGroup() Success Response

Success Callback Parameter:

Parameter	Type	Description
response	String	Success confirmation message. Example: "Group deleted successfully."

Post-Deletion Effects:

Effect	Description
Group removed	Group is permanently deleted from the system
Members removed	All members lose access to the group
Messages deleted	All group messages are permanently deleted
Conversations cleared	Group conversations removed from all members’ conversation lists
Cannot recover	This action is irreversible

Real-time Event Triggered:

Event	Delegate Method	Description
onGroupDeleted	CometChatGroupDelegate	Notifies all group members that the group has been deleted

onGroupDeleted Event Payload:

Parameter	Type	Description
group	Group	The deleted group object. See Group Object below

Group Object (in event):

Parameter	Type	Description
guid	String	Group’s unique ID. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"
name	String	Group’s display name. Example: "Development Team"
icon	String?	Group’s icon URL. Example: "https://example.com/group.png"
description	String?	Group description. Example: "Team discussions"
groupType	GroupType	Group type. Example: .public
owner	String	Group owner UID. Example: "cometchat-uid-1"
membersCount	Int	Number of members at deletion. Example: 15
createdAt	Int	Creation timestamp. Example: 1699700000

Sample Payload - deleteGroup() Error Response

Error Callback Parameter:

Parameter	Type	Description
error	CometChatException?	Error object containing failure details

CometChatException Object:

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Machine-readable error code. Example: "ERR_GROUP_NOT_JOINED"
errorDescription	String	Human-readable error message
errorDetails	[String: Any]?	Additional error context

Common Error Codes:

Error Code	Description
ERR_NOT_LOGGED_IN	User is not logged in. Call CometChat.login() first
ERR_GUID_NOT_FOUND	Group with specified GUID does not exist
ERR_GROUP_NOT_FOUND	Group does not exist in the system
ERR_GROUP_NOT_JOINED	User is not a member of the group
ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED	User is not admin/owner of the group
ERR_INVALID_GUID	GUID format is invalid or empty

Error Response Example (Not a Member):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: "ERR_GROUP_NOT_JOINED"
errorDescription	String	Example: "The user with UID cometchat-uid-2 is not a member of the group with GUID cometchat-guid-1. Please join the group to access it."

Error Response Example (Permission Denied):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: "ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED"
errorDescription	String	Example: "Only the admin can delete this group."

Error Response Example (Group Not Found):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: "ERR_GUID_NOT_FOUND"
errorDescription	String	Example: "Group with the specified GUID does not exist."

Important Considerations:

• Only the group admin/owner can delete the group
• This action is PERMANENT and cannot be undone
• All group data including messages will be permanently lost
• All members will receive the onGroupDeleted event via CometChatGroupDelegate