If you need to know how to delete contacts on iPhone, then you're in the right place. Everyone's virtual address book can end up cluttered and unorganized, so if you need to clean house and get your names and numbers in order, then we've got everything you need to know.
Should it be apps or games that need to get gone, our how to delete apps on iPhone guide can help you out. Or if you're looking to pivot away from Apple, try our guide to the best Samsung phones.
How do I delete contacts on iPhone?
For one reason or another, you inevitably end up with contacts on your phone that need to go. Be it because they were a former work colleague, an ex, or a friendship that fizzled out, it's time to get that number off your phone to take back some valuable real estate on your device - every bit of storage space counts. Also, if they're not on your phone, it's easier to keep them out of your mind.
To delete contacts on an iOS device, you need to:
- Hit the green phone icon
- Go to contacts
- Scroll through until you find the one you want to delete
- Select the contact
- Hit the edit button in the top right of the screen
- Scroll down and hit 'Delete Contact' at the bottom
How do I delete multiple contacts on iPhone?
Should you have a whole heap of contacts that you want to get rid of, we have some good news for you: there's a bulk deletion option on iPhone, so you don't need to go through the tedious steps of deleting them one at a time.
To delete multiple iPhone contacts, use the following method:
- Hit the green phone icon
- Go to contacts
- Find one of the contacts you want to delete and press the screen with two fingers to highlight the contact
- Use your fingers to scroll up or down your contacts and select all those you want to delete
- Release your fingers and do a long press to bring the options up
- Select 'Delete Contacts'
Can I recover deleted iPhone contacts?
The good news is that yes, you can recover accidentally deleted iPhone contacts. The caveat, however, is that this process is dependent on whether you regularly update and sync your iCloud account. If you do, then it's pretty easy to restore your contacts you mistakenly sent to the trash. To recover your contacts, you just need to:
- Sign in to iCloud
- At the bottom, there should be a 'Data Recovery' tab
- Select 'Restore Contacts'
- Select 'Restore' next to the date you deleted the contacts you want back
- Confirm the action, and once the restore is completed, you should receive a notification on your iCloud account as well as an email address to your Apple ID
However, we must reiterate that this method is only viable if you sync your iCloud account. If you don't, there's no way for you to restore any of your deleted contacts, but you do have the option of looking at old messages and resaving the number that way, so long as you remember who the conversation was with.
There you have it, everything you need to know about how to delete contacts on your iPhone.