> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fapost.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contact groups

> Lists of contacts you maintain by hand.

A group is a named list of contacts. Membership is assigned, not derived — a
contact is in a group because someone put them there.

## The list

Each group shows its **name**, a **description**, how many **contacts** it holds,
and when it was **created**. **New Group** creates one.

The description column is worth using. A group called "VIP" tells the next person
nothing about who belongs in it or who decides; one sentence there saves an
argument later.

## Group or segment

The two exist because membership can be either a decision or a fact, and they
are not interchangeable.

|              | Group                 | [Segment](/using/segments)      |
| ------------ | --------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Membership   | Assigned by a person  | Derived from conditions         |
| Changes when | Someone changes it    | The contact changes             |
| Size         | Exact, always current | A snapshot, recounted on demand |

**Use a group** for "beta testers", "escalate to Anna", "gave consent at the
trade fair" — things no rule can work out.

**Use a segment** for "wrote in the last 30 days", "speaks Polish", "never
completed onboarding" — things nobody should have to maintain by hand.

<Note>
  The failure mode of groups is staleness: a hand-maintained list is correct on
  the day it is made and drifts from then on. If you find yourself periodically
  reviewing a group to add and remove people by rule, that rule is a segment.
</Note>

## Using them

Groups can target a [broadcast](/using/broadcasts) and can be tested inside a
flow, the same way tags and segments can. What differs is only how membership is
decided.