How to Delete Multiple Contacts from Android and iPhone

Deleting one contact on Android or iPhone is quite easy. Select the contact and hit the Delete button. But what if you want to delete multiple or all contacts? Fortunately, that’s also easy once you are acquainted with the process. Let’s delve into how to delete multiple contacts on Android and iOS and how to recover deleted contacts.

How to Delete Multiple Contacts on iPhone

Unfortunately, there is no native way to delete or select multiple contacts on iPhone and iPad. However, two workarounds exist that allow you to delete contacts in bulk on iOS and iPadOS.

1. Delete Multiple Contacts on iPhone with iCloud

With this method, you’ll need to access iCloud on a computer to delete multiple contacts from your iPhone. The idea is that if your iPhone contacts are synced to iCloud, you can delete them via iCloud’s web version from a Mac or Windows PC.

Here are the steps to do so:

1. On your iPhone, go to “Settings → Your Name → iCloud.”

2. Make sure the toggle next to “Contacts” is enabled. This will sync your contacts to iCloud so that you can mass delete them from the web version.

3. Open icloud.com in a browser on your computer and log in with your Apple ID. Make sure to log in to the same account you are using on your iPhone.
4. Click on “Contacts” in the iCloud interface.

5. Looking at your contacts list, select the first contact you wish to delete. Press the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click on other contacts to select them while keeping the Ctrl or Command key pressed. This method lets you select multiple contacts on iPhone. The selected contacts below are highlighted in blue.

6. To select all contacts, click on the Settings icon at the bottom-left corner and choose “Select all” from the menu.

7. With the desired contacts selected, click on the Settings icon again and select Delete from the menu.

8. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Click Delete.

The selected contacts will be deleted from your iPhone and other Apple devices after some time. If the contacts aren’t deleted from your iPhone, restart and make sure the Contacts toggle under iCloud settings is enabled on your iPhone as shown in step #1.

2. Delete Multiple Contacts on iPhone Using Third-Party Apps

If you don’t have access to a computer, you can mass delete contacts directly on your iPhone using third-party apps. One of the more popular apps for doing this is Groups. Use the following steps to delete several contacts from iPhone using the Groups app.

1. Install the Groups app on your iPhone.
2. Open it and grant the necessary permissions to Contacts when asked.
3. Tap on “All Contacts” under the “Labels” tab or select “All contacts” from the “Groups” list at the top. depending on what shows up on your screen.

4. Click on the circles next to the contacts to select them. If you want to select all contacts, press the “Select all” button at the top.

5. Press “Choose action” at the top and select “Delete contacts” from the menu.

6. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Tap on “Remove from my iPhone!”

Once deleted from your iPhone, these contacts will be removed from all connected Apple devices, such as iPad, Mac, etc.

Two more apps that you can use to mass delete contacts on iPhone are:

• Delete Contacts+ app
• Cleanup Duplicate Contacts

How to Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone

If you accidentally delete a contact from your iPhone or the web version of iCloud, you can easily recover it using iCloud’s web version on a PC.

1. Open icloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.
2. Click on your name at the top and select “Account settings” from the menu.

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Restore contacts” under Advanced.

4. You will see the list of archived contacts. Click on “Restore” next to the date you deleted the contact you wish to restore. This should contain all your contacts, including the deleted ones.

5. Click on “Restore” in the confirmation pop-up.

6. Wait for the restoration process to complete. Do not close the browser tab. Once done, you will receive a “Contacts restore complete” notification in iCloud. Click on “OK.” The deleted contacts will start showing up again on your iPhone.

How to Delete Multiple Contacts on Android

You can delete multiple or all contacts on Android from your phone or the Web by following these steps.

Delete Contacts in Bulk on Android Phone

1. Open the Google Contacts app on your phone.
2. Tap on the profile picture at the top and select the account with contacts you wish to delete.

3. Tap on the three-dot icon at the top and choose “Select” from the menu.

4. Tap on the contacts one by one to select them. If you want to select all contacts, tap on the “Select all” button.

Tip: touch and hold a contact to select it, then tap the other contacts to select them.

5. Press the Trash icon to delete contacts from your Android phone. Tap on “Move to Trash” in the confirmation pop-up.

The selected contacts will be deleted from your phone. If they were saved on a Google account, they will be deleted from across all devices. The deleted contacts are moved to Trash, but you can recover them within 30 days.

Delete Android Contacts in Bulk on PC

1. Open contacts.google.com in your PC’s browser and log in with the same Google account from which you want to delete contacts.
2. Hover your mouse over one of the contacts you want to delete. Click on the checkbox next to the contact.

3. Similarly, select more contacts. If you want to select all contacts, click on the small down arrow at the top and choose “All” from the menu.

4. Click on the three-dot icon at the top and choose “Delete.” Press “Delete” on the confirmation pop-up.

Note: this method will only delete contacts saved to the particular Google account. Contacts saved in your phone’s local storage or SIM will not be deleted. Use the first method to delete them.

How to Recover Deleted Android Contacts on PC

1. Open contacts.google.com in a browser.
2. Click on “Bin” in the left sidebar. You will find all the deleted contacts.

3. Hover your mouse pointer over the contacts that you want to restore and click on the checkbox next to them.

4. To select all contacts, click on the downward arrow and choose “All” from the menu.

5. With the contacts selected, click on the “Recover” button.

The deleted contact(s) will reappear in your contacts list in a bit.

How to Recover Deleted Android Contacts on Mobile

1. Open the Google Contacts app on your phone.
2. Tap on the three horizontal lines icon at the top and press the “Trash” option.

3. Touch and hold a contact to select it, then tap on other contacts. Once the desired contacts are selected, tap on the three-dot icon and choose “Recover” from the menu.

How to Delete Multiple Contacts on Samsung Galaxy Phones

To delete your contacts on the Samsung Contacts app, follow these steps:

1. Open the Samsung Contacts app on your phone.
2. Touch and hold one of the contacts to select it. A checkmark will appear next to the selected contacts. Tap on other contacts to select them. To select all contacts, tap on the “All” checkbox at the top.

3. Tap on the “Trash” icon at the bottom to delete the selected contacts.

4. Press “Move to Trash” in the confirmation pop-up window.

How to Restore Deleted Contacts on Samsung Galaxy Phones

1. Launch the Samsung Contacts app.
2. Tap on the icon with three horizontal lines and select “Trash” from the menu.

3. Touch and hold a contact to select it or press the “Edit” button and select contacts.

4. Tap on “Restore” to recover the deleted contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I can’t find the Trash option in my Contacts app. What can I do?

The Trash option or the ability to restore deleted contacts is available in some Contacts apps only. If you don’t see the Trash or Bin option in your Contacts app, it means the feature isn’t available in the app. You need to install a contacts app that supports restoring contacts, such as Google’s Contacts app.

2. How can I easily get rid of duplicate contacts?

On Android, open the Google Contacts app, tap on the three-bar icon and select “Merge & fix.” The app will automatically detect duplicate contacts. Select the contacts to merge.

Sadly, there is no native way to easily delete multiple duplicate contacts on iPhone. You can link individual duplicate contacts by tapping on Edit contact followed by Link contacts. Alternatively, export the iPhone contacts from iCloud and add them to Google Contacts, where you can merge duplicate contacts. Later, import the final version back to iCloud.

3. Will formatting the phone delete contacts?

If the contacts are stored in your phone’s storage, then formatting the phone will delete the contacts. However, if the contacts are saved to Google, iCloud, or any other cloud storage, then a factory reset will delete the contacts from your phone but not from the cloud services. You can easily sync them back.