So, you are using an iPhone for years now and like each one of us do, you do not worry about the trash getting collected in the phone’s memory. Well, that’s wrong. It is important to learn to manage and deleting contacts from your iOS device, be it iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.
In this piece, we have illustrated the process in different simple stepwise methods that will help you manage the device and its functions well. Come learn how to delete contacts on iPhone and other iOS devices.
How to manage and delete contacts from my iOS device?
Set up a contacts account
You can simply set up your email account to share contact details with the contacts app. In case of an existing contacts account, you can also set that up in your device. Read on to know how.
- Open settings and go to ‘Password & Accounts’
- Click on Add Account
- Click on your email account and turn Contacts on. You can otherwise tap on ‘Other’ to set up a new contacts account, such as a CardDAV or LDAP account.
- Now enter your details and set a password.
- Click ‘Next’.
If there are multiple contact accounts in the Contacts app and you want to check a particular account, tap ‘Groups’ in the app (look at the upper-left corner).
Turn Contacts off or on for a particular account
Do you want to add or remove all the contacts from an account? All you need to do is turn Contacts on or off for an account.
- Click on ‘Settings’ and go to ‘Password & Accounts’.
- Click on the account that contains the contacts you wish to remove or want to add a contact.
- To add a contact, just turn on the contacts.
- To remove a contact, turn off contacts and click on ‘Delete from my iPhone’.
Choose a default account to add new contacts
- First, choose a default account.
- If there are multiple accounts in your Contacts app, you can easily choose a default account to have the new contacts added.
- Go to Settings, then contacts and finally select the ‘Default Account’
How can you change the way you sort and display contacts in your iPhone?
It is very easy to select how you sort and display your contacts. You can either set it alphabetically by first name or the last name.
Go to Settings – Contacts and choose one of the following ways:
- Sorting a contact: You can sort it alphabetically by last or first name
- Displaying a contact: You can decide whether you want to display the first name first or last name first
- Give a short name to contact: You can choose the way a contact appears in different apps in your iPhone like Messages, Mail, Phone, etc.
How to delete a contact from your iOS device?
On deleting a contact, it permanently gets erased from your device. In case of deleting a contact from your attached email, it will erase the contact from all the apps you have signed in the email account into.
This is how you do it:
- Go to ‘Contacts’ and click on the contact you want to erase/delete.
- Click on ‘Edit’
- Scroll down the screen and click on ‘Delete Contact’ and then confirm to delete.
How to remove duplicate contacts in iPhone
On using an iPhone for years, there’s a decent possibility of getting the contact list cluttered by duplicated contacts. It can sometimes be very annoying. Imagine you want to find a particular contact and you end up seeing multiple entries with the same contact name. Isn’t it irritating? WE have got the solution to this for you. Keep reading.
The most appropriate solution is to delete the duplicate contact on your iPhone if it is not useful for you. In case the contact is useful to you, you need to merge it into a master contact that will contain all the required details. Whatever you choose make sure that works for you well and helps you clear the mess created by the duplicate contacts in the contact list. We have got you all the information on how to delete duplicate contacts from your iPhone? There are different ways to do it and we have explained all of them below.
How to delete or Merge the duplicate contacts one by one in the iPhone
There are cases where you find duplicate contacts containing essential information. You don’t like the clutter but you also need the information. In such cases, deleting them is not a good solution. Why? Once you delete the contacts, you cannot get back the useful information. So, merging the contacts serves to be a better solution.
Check out the steps to merge duplicate contacts on your iPhone:
- Click on the ‘Phone’ icon on the screen of your iPhone
- Click on ‘Contacts’ on the bottom of the screen
- Scroll down the contact list to find the duplicated contact which you would like to merge. Click on it
- Click on the Edit option that appears on the top-right corner of the contact screen.
- Keep scrolling down the page and search for the ‘link contacts’ option. Click on it
- You will be taken to the list of contacts.
- Now locate the contact you wish to merge the duplicate contact with. The one you are editing.
- Once you locate it, open the contact.
- Click on the link option on the top-right corner.
- Click ‘Done’ to complete the merging process.
- Delete duplicate contacts one by one on your iPhone
When you notice duplicate contacts in your iPhone that have the same information, it is best to delete all the duplicated contacts. Here’s how you can delete the duplicated contacts from your iOS device:
- Click on the phone icon on the Home screen
- Click on contacts down the page and find the duplicate contact you want to delete.
- Click on the ‘contact‘.
- Click on the edit option present on the top-right corner of your phone screen.
- Scroll down to find the ‘delete Contact’ option and click on it.
- Confirm ‘delete contact’ in the dialog box that shows up on the phone screen.
How to merge your iPhone duplicate contacts on the MacBook
If you also use a MacBook while using the iPhone, the merging process gets easier. You can follow the below-mentioned to merge the duplicate contacts in your iPhone on your Mac. Make sure you have synced the contacts to the MacBook.
- Launch the MacBook Contact app. You will easily find it in the Applications.
- Select ‘All Contacts’ option appearing on the left side (if not selected by default).
- You will see a drop-down menu notifying you the total number of contacts. It will also inform you about the duplicate contacts containing the same information having different names and also the ones having the same names but different information.
- Click on the ‘merge‘ option and get these contacts merged.
Note: As long as you have your MacBook and iPhone synched, the made changes will reflect on your iPhone.
How to delete the duplicate contacts from iCloud
To make sure this method works for you, iCloud must be synched with your iPhone. If both are synched, the changes you make on the iCloud will definitely reflect on your iPhone. Below are the easy steps to remove duplicate contacts from iCloud:
- Use a computer web browser (we would suggest Google Chrome) to log into the iCloud account. Use the same Apple ID and password you use in your iPhone while signing in to iCloud.
- Tap on the contacts icon on the screen
- Select ‘All Contacts’ option on the top-left corner of the screen. This way you can see all the existing iCloud contacts.
- IN case you use a Windows PC, hold the CTRL (control) button down and on a Mac, you need to hold the Command button. While you are holding wither of the buttons, click on the contacts (duplicate ones) that you want to remove.
- On selecting all the duplicate contacts to be deleted, release the button.
- Click on the ‘Settings’ icon on the bottom left corner of the screen and choose ‘Delete’ from the drop-down menu.
- Confirm to clean up the selected contacts by clicking on ‘Delete’ in the pop-up confirmation box.
How can you merge or delete duplicate contacts using iOS Apps on your iPhone?
All the above-mentioned methods to delete or merge duplicate contacts on your iPhone will take a lot of effort as compared to this one. Using iOS apps for the process makes it quite easier – the best way is using iMyFone. It is a third-party tool used to manage contacts for free! You can easily delete the unwanted contacts and merge duplicate contacts. Moreover, you can bulk-transfer the contacts to another iPhone. And get a back up of all the contacts.
Follow these easy steps to merge duplicate contacts with iMyFone:
- Install and launch the app in your iPhone and go to ‘Manage Contacts’.
- Allow the iMyFone app to access the Contacts by clicking on ‘OK’ on the drop-down dialog box.
- The next screen will show you another option ‘View’ under the Merge Duplicate Contacts section. Click on it
- Select the duplicated contacts you wish to merge and click on ‘Merge’
- Wait patiently while the iMYFone app merges the selected duplicate contacts.
- You will see a ‘Merge Completed’ notification when it is done.
In a Nutshell
Instead of letting the duplicate contacts clutter you iPhone, you can easily delete or merge the contacts using the above-mentioned steps. Choose the solution that suits your case best. For the easiest way possible, the last one with ‘iMyPhone iOS app’ is recommended. However, the choice is always yours. All the methods will work well with the different solutions you wish to choose.
