How to use Contacts on iPhone and iPad

Maybe you're a popular person. Maybe you know a lot of people. Either way, keeping in touch means keeping in contact, and that means the Contacts app for iPhone and iPad! With it, you can keep every person, company, phone number, email address, social account, and more organized and available!

How to add a contact on iPhone and iPad

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the plus sign in the top right corner.

  3. In the top section of this screen, you can type in basic information like:

    • Contact's first name
    • Contact's last name
    • Contact's company

    Tap on the Contacts app, tap on the plus sign, and fill in basic name info.

  4. Tap on the green plus sign next to add phone number

  5. Enter your contact's phone number

  6. By default, home will be selected as the label associated with this contact's number. To change this tap on the arrow next to home.

    Tap on the plus sign, enter a phone number, and tap on the arrow.

  7. Tap on an appropriate label that goes with your contact's number (eg. work, mobile, etc.)

  8. Tap on Done in the top right corner to save this contact.

    Tap on a label and tap on done.

You can add additional information for your contacts, like alternate phone numbers, email addresses, website, address, birthday, etc. using similar tap and type steps as above.

How to import contacts on iPhone and iPad

If you already have contacts associated with iCloud or an email account, it's easy to add them as contacts.

Sometimes after you do an import, you end up with duplicate contacts. No need to manually remove all the double entries. There's a faster way to get rid of duplicate contacts.

How to update an existing contact on iPhone and iPad

Has your friend changed their number, email address, or name? It's easy to edit contact's information on iPhone and iPad.

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the contact you want to update.

  3. Tap on the Edit button in the top right corner.

    Launch contacts, tap the contact, tap Edit

From here you can add additional phone numbers, email addresses, and other information specific to this contact.

How to find an existing contact on iPhone and iPad

As your contact list grows, it can be tough to track down people's numbers. Here are some fast tips for finding contacts.

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the search bar at the top of your screen.

  3. Type in your contact's name (first and/or last) to locate them.

    Open Contents, tap on the search bar, and type in a contact name.

If you've forgotten someone's name, but know they're in your contacts, you can quickly browse contact's by what letter their name starts with.

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.

  2. Tap on a letter on the right side of your screen.

    Tap on Contacts and tap on a letter. Once you've tapped on a letter, you will automatically go to contacts whose first or last name starts with that letter depending on your settings.

How to share a contact on iPhone and iPad

Need to share a work contact with a colleague or pass along the info of a good insurance agent to a friend who is taking up fire juggling? Share your contacts with ease, right in the Contacts app!

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the contact you want to share.

  3. Tap on Share Contact.

    Launch Contacts, tap the contact, tap Share Contact

Depending on the applications on your phone, you'll have a few different ways to share your contact including AirDrop for nearby devices, Message, Mail, and other third-party apps. Tap on whichever one is most relevant for the way you want to share your contact and follow the prompts to send it off!

How to assign photos to contacts on iPhone and iPad

Want a little photo of your contact next to their name? Here's how to do it!

  1. Launch the Photos app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap the photo you want to assign to a contact.
  3. Tap the share button on the bottom left of your screen. It's a square with an upward-pointing arrow.
  4. Swipe left on the sharing options near the bottom of your screen.

  5. Tap Assign to Contact.

    Tap the photo, tap the share button, tap Assign to Contact

  6. Tap the contact to whom you'd like to assign the photo.
  7. Drag and pinch the photo to scale and move it as you like.
  8. Tap Choose on the bottom right of your screen.

  9. Tap Update on the top right of your screen.

    Tap a contact, scale the photo, tap Choose, tap Update

The photo will now be part of that contact's profile.

How to delete a contact on iPhone and iPad

If a friend has gone off the grid, or a friend is no longer a friend, it's time to delete them from your contact.

  1. Launch the Contacts app from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the contact you want to delete.

  3. Tap on Edit in the top, right corner.

    Launch contacts, tap the contact, tap Edit

  4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

  5. Tap on Delete Contact.

  6. Tap on Delete Contact.

    Scroll to the bottom of the page, tap on delete, and tap on delete.

This won't actually prevent this person from being able to contact you (in order to do that, you have to block them, but at least they're no longer in your contacts. If you change your mind you can always re-add a person into Contacts on your iPhone or iPad.

Updated June 2018: Added a section on assigning photos to contacts.

iOS

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