How to Convert KakaoTalk Group Chats to Team Chats

KakaoTalk users frustrated by the limited administrative functions in regular group chats can now convert them to team chats. This upgrade allows for better management, including the ability to remove specific members and grant new participants access to past conversation history.

The process to convert a regular chatroom to a team chatroom is straightforward. Users must first update their KakaoTalk app to the latest version. Then, within the group chat they wish to convert, they navigate to the chatroom menu and select 'Recreate Chatroom.' A pop-up will appear, prompting the user to choose between 'Regular Chat' and 'Team Chat.' Selecting 'Team Chat' initiates the creation of a new team chatroom.

When setting up the new team chat, users can customize the representative image and name. Crucially, they must enable the 'Maintain Previous Conversation' option. This ensures that existing members are carried over to the new chatroom without needing to be re-invited. Without this setting, all members would have to be added again from scratch. After configuring these settings, tapping 'Confirm' finalizes the creation of the team chatroom. It's important to note that the original chatroom does not disappear automatically; users must manually exit it to delete it, and all conversation data will be lost upon exiting.

Migrating past conversations, photos, and files to the new team chatroom requires an additional manual step. The conversion process only transfers the member list, not the chat history. To move content, users must export the entire conversation from the old chatroom via the settings menu, choosing to save either text messages only, all messages to internal storage, or all messages to 'Talk Cloud' (a paid service). Once exported, this content must be manually posted into the newly created team chatroom.