How to Delete Contacts on iPhone [Multiple, Duplicate]

All of us, at some point, sit down and decide to delete all the unnecessary contacts we have on our phones. But sometimes, especially with iOS, it can be a bit tricky to figure out how we can go about this.

Contacts these days are often synced together across various devices and accounts. Google and its Gmail contacts list, which includes email addresses, organizational information, etc.cannot be replaced by any alternative that Apple offers. So naturally, the Apple iPhone consists of an option to sync Gmail accounts. The iCloud contacts sync with the Gmail contacts, making an overall list of names, addresses, and numbers. You can delete contacts from this master list from your laptop. 

 Steps to delete contacts on iPhone 2020.

When you follow these steps, you will have deleted an individual contact and all the details associated with that name, including phone numbers, email addresses, etc in your iPhone. But, before deleting backup your iPhone contacts.

1. Open the Contacts page in the phone App. The phone app is found in green on the task pane at the bottom of the screen. Click on contacts.
2. Scroll through your various contacts and find the contact you wish to delete. Select the same.
3. Tap the Edit button. Found on the top right corner of the screen.
4. Scroll down to the bottom, after all the various options to edit. 
5. You will find the ‘Delete Contact’ option in red lettering. Tap this.
6. Tap this again to confirm.

Your iPhone usually serves as a device that lets you access all sorts of accounts at the same place. This universality implies that each time you log into a syncing device like Gmail, iCloud, or OneDrive, the account info gets saved.

If you have multiple Gmail accounts (which people usually do these days) and wish to remove all the associated contacts from your iPhone, you will need to know how to delete contacts on the iPhone account-wise.

How to Delete Multiple Contacts on iPhone:

This method ensures that the email and the Calendars (if required) remain connected to the iPhone’s Mail app, but all the extra contacts you do not need are removed from your list of contacts.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Passwords and Accounts.
3. You will find a list of all the accounts that are synced on to your iPhone. Select the one you want to remove from your device.
4. You will find a list of options you can toggle on and off, including Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Notes.
5. Toggle off the Contacts option so that the button turns grey.
6. Confirm the Delete from my iPhone option. Now you know how to delete contacts on iPhone, one account at a time.

How to Delete iPhone Contacts using iCloud:

You can access everything that is saved to your Cloud account through its web version called iCloud.com. But please keep in mind that if you delete contacts through this method, they will be removed from every device you have synced on to using your Apple ID:

1. Go to www.icloud.com.
2. Sign in using your AppleID and password.
3. On the main menu, select Contacts.
4. To delete a contact completely, select it and press the Delete key.
5. When the confirmation bubble pops up, click Delete again.

The best thing about this option is that you can always restore your contacts from the same website. You need to know how to delete contacts on iPhone individually, and as an extension, how to delete contacts on iPhone account-wise.

If you know how to delete contacts on iPhone, you should also know how to get them back. Remember that you have merely removed the account contacts from the device. They are still out there on the cloud and synced to your Gmail. If for some reason, it is done accidentally and you want some of the contacts back, you can follow the same steps to toggle the option again. This will reverse the effect of the steps above. 

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3. Steps To Block A Phone Number On iPhone
4. How to Clear Cache on iPhone
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How to deal with Duplicate contacts on iPhone

The case of repetition of contacts due to having multiple accounts synced to your iPhone device was discussed earlier. Instead of deleting contacts individually on the iPhone (which can be a rather tedious process), you can opt to merge the contacts. This involves selecting multiple contacts at a time and getting rid of them. It arguably takes less time than going through hundreds of contacts individually, especially if you are a busy person with a lot of connections.

Go ahead and clean up your contact lists of those numbers you do not need anymore. Make sure you share this article so that your friends and family.

iPhone screenshot image source: 9to5Mac