• You can rename a Slack channel using both the desktop and mobile versions of the app.
• Slack channels are essential to how the app functions — they're where the majority of conversations happen, and are great for grouping together people on the same team or in the same often.
• Only the creator of a channel or a Slack admin can rename a channel.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Channels hold a Slack workspace together. 

Organized by topic or purpose, they helpfully guide users to where certain content, workflows, and discussion should live, containing content so it doesn't become an information free-for-all with everyone in one office talking over each other. 

While channels take on many flavors — public, private, shared, and multi-workspace — how you name the channel is the single most important choice you need to make in designing your Slack workspace. That's the sign that tells people what channels are what.

And if you need to tweak the purpose of a channel, you'll need to rename it. Here's how to do that on both desktop and in the mobile app for iPhone and Android. 

Before this, however, you should note that you can only rename channels that you created yourself, unless you have admin privileges in your Slack workplace.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $899.99 at Best Buy)

MacBook Pro (From $1,299.99 at Best Buy)

Lenovo IdeaPad 130 (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

How to rename a Slack channel on desktop

1. Open up the Slack application on your Mac or PC, or log onto Slack on the web.

2. In the left sidebar, select the channel that you want to rename and click on it. 

3. Within the channel, click the gear icon at the top of the window to access the channels' settings, and then select "Additional Options." This will bring up a screen with a few options.

4. Select "Rename this channel." 

5. Rename the channel however you'd like. Keep in mind that it has to be in all lowercase letters, can't have spaces or periods, and has to be 80 characters or less.

6. Click "Rename channel" to save the new name, and then check to make sure the name has changed in Slack's sidebar.

There'll also be a message in the channel itself saying that you changed the name.

How to rename a Slack channel on mobile

The way you rename a channel on mobile is similar, but the menus you'll need to go through are titled differently.

1. Open the Slack app on your smartphone.

2. Go to the channel you'd like to rename. 

3. Once in the channel, tap the channel name at the top of the screen. This will bring up the channel's "Info" screen.

4. From the Info screen, select "Edit" to change the channel's name. You can also change the channel's topic and purpose here.

5. Change the channel name to the name of your choice. It has to follow the same rules as it would if you changed it on desktop — 80 characters or less, no uppercase letters, spaces, or periods. 

6. Press "Done" in the top right hand corner to save the new name. Once you do, exit the Info screen and check that the name change has gone through.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• There's a super-easy way to see who sends the most Slacks at your company — here's how to do it

• How to turn off read receipts on your iPhone so that senders don't know when you've read their iMessage

• How to stop robocalls and other spam calls from reaching your iPhone

• How to text a GIF on your iPhone using the built-in GIF keyboard in Messages or a third-party app

• How to save audio messages on your iPhone and change your settings so audio messages stop deleting after 2 minutes

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Watch: I quit social media for a month — and it was the best choice I've ever made

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnpJqwqXvHqK5mrJ9iv6a6wKacZquclrCsecKhmKemlaE%3D