Transfer Group Ownership

Guide to transferring group ownership using the CometChat iOS SDK transferGroupOwnership method (owner only).

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

• Transfer ownership: CometChat.transferGroupOwnership(UID:GUID:onSuccess:onError:)
• Permission: Only current group owner can transfer ownership
• Note: Owner must transfer ownership before leaving the group
• Related: Leave Group · Change Member Scope · Groups Overview

Transfer Group Ownership

In other words, as a logged-in user, how do I transfer the ownership of any group if I am the owner of the group?

In order to transfer the ownership of any group, the first condition is that you must be the owner of the group. In case you are the owner of the group, you can use the transferGroupOwnership() method.

The owner is not allowed to leave the group. If you as the owner would like to leave the group, you will have to transfer your ownership first to any other member of the group and only then you will be allowed to leave the group.

Method Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
UID	String	The UID of the new owner
GUID	String	The GUID of the group

Swift

let uid = "cometchat-uid-2"
let guid = "cometchat-guid-1"

CometChat.transferGroupOwnership(UID: uid, GUID: guid, onSuccess: { (success) in
    print("Ownership transferred: \(success)")
}, onError: { (error) in
    print("Error: \(error?.errorDescription)")
})

Sample Payload - Transfer Group Ownership

Request Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
UID	String	Unique identifier of the new owner. Example: "cometchat-uid-2"
GUID	String	Unique identifier of the group. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"

Success Response:

Parameter	Type	Description
success	String	Success message. Example: "Group ownership transferred successfully"

After Transfer:

Effect	Description
New Owner	Has full admin privileges and ownership
Previous Owner	Becomes an admin (not owner)
Leave Group	Previous owner can now leave the group
Event	Other members receive onOwnershipChanged event

Error Response (CometChatException):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Unique error code. Example: "ERR_GROUP_NOT_JOINED"
errorDescription	String	Human-readable error message. Example: "The user is not a member of the group"

Sample Payload - Transfer Ownership Error (Not Owner)

Request Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
UID	String	Unique identifier of the new owner. Example: "cometchat-uid-2"
GUID	String	Unique identifier of the group. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"

Error Response:

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Unique error code. Example: "ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED"
errorDescription	String	Human-readable error message. Example: "User is not the owner of the group"

Only the current owner can transfer ownership.

Sample Payload - Transfer Ownership Error (To Self)

Request Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
UID	String	Unique identifier (same as current owner). Example: "cometchat-uid-1"
GUID	String	Unique identifier of the group. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"

Error Response:

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Unique error code. Example: "ERR_CANNOT_TRANSFER_TO_SELF"
errorDescription	String	Human-readable error message. Example: "Cannot transfer ownership to yourself"

---

Real-Time Ownership Changed Events

In other words, as a member of a group, how do I know when ownership is transferred?

In order to receive real-time events whenever group ownership changes, you will need to implement the onOwnershipChanged() method of the CometChatGroupDelegate.

Swift

class ViewController: UIViewController, CometChatGroupDelegate {
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        CometChat.groupdelegate = self
    }
    
    func onOwnershipChanged(group: Group, newOwner: GroupMember) {
        print("Ownership changed in group: \(group.name ?? "")")
        print("New owner: \(newOwner.name ?? "")")
    }
}

onOwnershipChanged Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
group	Group	Group where ownership changed
newOwner	GroupMember	The new owner of the group

Sample Payload - onOwnershipChanged Event

Event Trigger: Received via CometChatGroupDelegate.onOwnershipChanged(group:newOwner:)

group (Group Object):

Parameter	Type	Description
guid	String	Unique group identifier. Example: "cometchat-guid-1"
name	String?	Group display name. Example: "My Group"
owner	String?	UID of the new owner. Example: "cometchat-uid-2"
membersCount	Int	Total number of members. Example: 5

newOwner (GroupMember Object):

Parameter	Type	Description
uid	String?	Unique identifier of the new owner. Example: "cometchat-uid-2"
name	String?	Display name of the new owner. Example: "George Alan"
avatar	String?	URL to the new owner’s avatar. Example: "https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-2.webp"
scope	MemberScope	New owner’s scope. Example: .admin

Missed Ownership Changed Events

In other words, as a member of a group, how do I know when ownership is transferred when my app is not running?

When you retrieve the list of previous messages if ownership has been transferred for any group that the logged-in user is a member of, the list of messages will contain an Action message.

Action Message Properties (for missed events)

Property	Type	Description
action	String	"ownershipChanged"
actionOn	User	New owner
actionBy	User	Previous owner who transferred
actionFor	Group	Group where change occurred

---

Common Error Codes

Error Code	Description	Resolution
ERR_GROUP_NOT_FOUND	Group with specified GUID does not exist	Verify the GUID is correct
ERR_UID_NOT_FOUND	Target user does not exist	Verify the user UID
ERR_GROUP_NOT_JOINED	User is not a member of the group	Join the group first
ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER	Target user is not a member of the group	Add user to group first
ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED	Logged-in user is not the group owner	Only owner can transfer ownership
ERR_CANNOT_TRANSFER_TO_SELF	Cannot transfer ownership to yourself	Specify a different user