How to delete a contact on iPhone - step-by-step instructions.  How to delete contacts from iPhone in various ways How to delete other people's contacts from iPhone

How to delete a contact on iPhone - step-by-step instructions. How to delete contacts from iPhone in various ways How to delete other people's contacts from iPhone

Deleting contacts from a phone is a common action that often has to be performed for various reasons: out-of-date information, moving from device to device, replacing or connecting an additional SIM card, purchasing a used device, preparing to sell your old device, etc. We want to tell you how you can delete several or all contacts from your iPhone using official methods or using various additional methods for phones that have been jailbroken.

If you need to delete only a specific contact, then you can do it manually without using special programs:

  • On the main screen, go to the Contacts application;
  • Select and click on the desired “unwanted” contact;
  • Click on “Edit” in the upper right corner;
  • Click on the red “Delete Contact” button, which is located at the very bottom of the page;
  • Press the red button again to confirm your selection.
  • Quickly clear duplicate data or multiple records via the iCloud website

    Another simple method is to selectively or completely delete contacts on icloud.com. All contacts on your phone must be previously synchronized with iCloud.

  • Select the “Contacts” section on the website and enter it;
  • Log in to the site using your Apple ID, enter your password (on your phone, log in using the same Apple ID);
  • Select a candidate to be deleted by holding Ctrl/Cmd and selecting several desired contacts at once. The combination Ctrl/Cmd+A will allow you to select all contacts at once;
  • In the lower left corner of the screen, click on the gear icon to sync with your iPhone;
  • Select “Delete”, confirm deletion.
  • Attention! Contacts are permanently deleted from all connected devices, including iPhone - they will be impossible to restore.

    Video: clearing iPhone contacts via iCloud

    How to immediately delete all data from your phone using iTunes

    Media player iTunes allows you not only to recover data, but also to quickly delete contacts. All you need is a computer and a USB cable.

  • In the side menu, select the required device by clicking on the icon with its image;
  • Connect your phone to your computer and launch iTunes;
  • Go to the “Details / Information” section (Info);
  • Check the “Sync Contacts” box, then just below click on “All Contacts”;
  • At the bottom right of the screen, click on “Apply”;
  • In the information window that appears, confirm the deletion by clicking “Replace information” (Apply).
  • Via Erase Contacts

    Erase Contacts- an application that you first need to download from Cydia(Bigboss repository). This method is only suitable for those iPhones that have a jailbreak installed.

  • In the “Search” search bar, enter “Erase Contacts”;
  • Go to Cydia;
  • Select the application, and then “Modify” (top right), then “Install”;
  • After installing the tweak, go to the desktop screen;
  • Click on the Erase Contacts icon that appears.
  • After clicking this icon, all contacts and other data from the address book are automatically deleted.

    Through the file system

    One of the “difficult” ways to delete contacts through the file system.

  • In the file manager iTools go to: private\var\mobile\Library\AddressBook
  • Delete 2 files: sqlitedb And AddressBookImages.sqlitedb;
  • Reboot.
  • As you can see, deleting contacts from iPhone is a simple and quick procedure. Use convenient removal tools, save your time and nerves. Good luck!

    At first glance, a simple procedure cleaning the phone book on iPhone should not raise any questions. However, most users have a question how to delete all contacts from iPhone at once. It turns out that such a banal operation on this device has its own characteristics. If you limit yourself to just your phone, you cannot delete all contacts. You can delete one at a time, but this is not an option if there are many contacts. Therefore, you need to use iTunes. Just in case, I will describe both options for deleting contacts.

    How to delete a contact on iPhone

    To delete contact from the phone book:
    1.Open the Contacts application.
    2.Select a contact.

    3.Click the "Change" button.
    4.Click the “Delete contact” button, it’s at the very bottom.

    5.Confirm deletion. Done, the contact is deleted.

    Delete all contacts from iPhone

    So that at once:
    1.Connect it using a cable to your computer (where iTunes must be installed).
    2.Select it in the list of devices and go to the “Information” tab.
    3. Check the box next to “Synchronize contacts with” and select a program with an empty contacts directory (Google Contacts, Outlook, etc.). And also select “All contacts” just below.

    4.Scroll down the page and in the “Add-ons” chapter, check the box next to “Contacts”.

    5.Click the “Apply” button at the bottom right and confirm the synchronization by clicking “Replace information” in the notification window that appears. After this synchronization is completed, all contacts from the iPhone will be deleted. Done - the contacts directory is empty.

    Using standard iOS tools, you can only delete contacts one at a time, and even this function is not easy to find. It is generally impossible to clear the entire phone book through the device menu. We've figured out how to delete contacts from an iPhone - you'll need iTunes or iCloud cloud storage. Owners of jailbroken smartphones can also use third-party file managers.

    Through the menu of iPhone 4S, 5S, 6 or another version, you can delete contact numbers one by one. You cannot restore a deleted contact via your phone. To manually erase data:

    1. Go to the phone book.
    2. Click on the entry you want to remove, the full entry card will appear.
    3. In the upper right corner, click "Edit".
    4. To delete one of a person’s phone numbers, click on the red circle next to it - the field will disappear.
    5. To completely erase an entry, scroll to the bottom of the list and click “Delete contact.”

    After confirming the action, the selected entry will disappear from the smartphone’s memory. You can return it only by synchronizing the phone book with iTunes, if a copy of the data was previously created there. To delete multiple contacts using this method, you will have to manually erase each entry individually.

    Via iTunes

    You can quickly delete all contacts from your iPhone by syncing your smartphone with iTunes. Install it on your computer, connect the phone to the PC with a cable. How to delete all contacts from iPhone in iTunes:

    • On the left you need to find and click on the phone icon.
    • Open the “Information” subsection.
    • Check the box next to “Synchronize contacts”.
    • Next, in the drop-down list, select one of the phone book options - it should be empty. If you have not previously saved entries to Windows Contacts on your computer, set this value.
    • Scroll to the “Add-ons” block and check “Contacts” to erase all data about phone numbers.
    • Click "Apply".

    Synchronization will begin, iTunes will find the phone book on the iPhone and replace it with an empty one from the computer. As a result, all contacts on the iPhone will be cleared.

    If you accidentally erased phone numbers, iTunes can also help you recover them. How to recover deleted contacts on iPhone: launch iTunes, connect your phone. In the program, click on the smartphone icon, open the “Browse” tab and launch the “Restore from copy” function. Specify a copy for the desired date and wait a couple of minutes, all contact information will be returned to your phone.

    In iCloud

    Apple's cloud stores only your data for which you have given permission. Synchronization with the server occurs while the device connected to the Wi-Fi network is charging. Before deleting all contacts from iCloud, check the service settings: in the main settings menu, find and click on iCloud, enter your Apple ID login and password. We confirm that you need to merge the data. Check that the “Contacts” item is activated.

    If iCloud has already been set up correctly, proceed directly to the next step. Go to https://www.icloud.com/ and log in to your account. Select “Contacts” - a list of entries from your phone will appear. Select with the mouse those that need to be erased by holding Ctrl on the keyboard. The selected lines will turn blue, and people icons will appear on the right side of the screen. Click on the gear in the bottom left corner and select “Delete” in the submenu. The data will disappear from iCloud, and with a short delay the list on the phone will also be cleared.

    Full reset

    To delete the phone book before selling the device, it is better to perform a hard reset. This will also erase all photographs, videos, and SMS messages. In the main settings section, go to the “Reset” section and activate “Erase content and settings.”

    Agree to the warning and your personal data will be deleted.

    For devices with Jailbreak

    Owners of jailbroken devices get a little more control over the entire smartphone. To delete contact entries, use additional applications on iPhone:

    • Erase Contacts - completely deletes the phone book, just run the utility and confirm the action.
    • File manager iFiles or iTools - in the “private” section, find the “AdressBook” folder and delete files with the extension from it. sqlitedb.

    Conclusion

    Clearing the phone book on your iPhone is easy. The fastest way to delete individual entries from it is manually through the device menu; it is convenient to remove several entries via iCloud. If you decide to completely erase all data, synchronize the gadget with iTunes or reset its content. In order not to mistakenly lose the necessary data, do not forget to first create a backup copy of the device, then restoring any information will not be difficult.

    Every iPhone user should know absolutely everything about their phone. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and sometimes it happens that when it is necessary to perform the simplest operation, the user begins to have problems due to not knowing how to do it. In this article we will look at one such problem. The topic of our article: how to delete contacts from iPhone.

    There are several ways to delete contacts from your device. We will consider all possible methods so that you, dear readers, can choose the most convenient one. So let's get started.

    1. Delete a specific contact from iPhone

    It happens when we need to delete one specific contact from our phone, here's how to do it:

    As you can see, everything is completely simple and even a child can cope with the removal procedure.

    For clarity, here is also a video that describes this process:

    Now let's look at another way to delete contacts directly from your phone.

    2. Delete all contacts from iPhone

    Please note that using this method, you will delete not only contacts, but also all content that is on the iPhone - Therefore, it is highly advisable to make a backup copy in advance.

    After these steps, all information stored on the iPhone will be deleted. Let us repeat once again: be extremely careful if you plan to use this method, because after these steps, you can only recover data by connecting to iTunes and restoring from a backup copy.

    Well, we've looked at two ways to delete contacts from your smartphone without using iTunes. Now we will look at another way by which you can delete all contacts without losing other information.

    3. Delete all contacts from iPhone via iTunes


    We looked at all the currently existing methods for deleting contacts from iPhone. Choose the method that is most convenient for you. We hope that our article was useful to you.

    A user who has just switched from Android to iPhone will probably be surprised at how complicated and confusing the procedure for deleting a number on an Apple device is. On an Android smartphone, you can simply open the contact’s context menu and press “ Delete" There is no context menu or delete key, which would be located in a visible place. The owner of the gadget will be forced to climb through the book of numbers to find the required button.

    We will simplify the task for a novice user and tell you how to erase a contact directly on the iPhone. In addition, we will describe methods for mass deletion of numbers that require the use of special software.

    Manually deleting numbers involves performing the following actions:

    Step 1. Go to the application " Contacts» on your iPhone and select the contact you want to delete.

    Step 2. Click on the button Change" in the upper right corner of the screen.

    Step 3. Scroll down the next screen to the bottom - there you will find the button " Delete contact».

    That's what you need. Click on it.

    Step 4. Confirm that you want to say goodbye to the contact - click " Delete contact" again.

    This deletion method is suitable if you need to erase a single number. If you need to clear the directory completely, deleting contacts one by one will take a lot of time. To perform this task, it is better to use special software.

    How to delete all contacts at once on iPhone?

    There are several ways to clear the phone book on iPhone. The most famous involves using the iTunes media combiner. Here's what you need to do to delete all contacts:

    Step 1. Connect your device to your PC with a USB cable and open iTunes.

    Step 2. Click on the button " iPhone».

    Step 3. On the menu " Settings" Choose a section " Intelligence».

    Step 4. Check the box next to " Sync contacts with" and in the drop-down menu select any option: " Windows Contacts" or " Outlook" Make sure that next to " All contacts" there is a period.

    Step 5. Scroll down the page to the block " Add-ons" and check the box next to " Contacts».

    Step 6. Start the synchronization process - click " Apply».

    As the synchronization progresses, iTunes will replace the contents of your iPhone phone book with information stored on your computer. If there is no file of the appropriate format on the PC, it is obvious that the directory will be empty.

    There is a faster way to delete all contacts from iPhone – completely reset the device. To do this you need to follow the path " Settings» — « Basic» — « Reset" and select the option " Erase content and settings».

    As a result, not only contacts, but also all user data will disappear from the device. It is better to perform a full reset procedure immediately before selling your iPhone.

    How to quickly delete multiple contacts at once via iCloud?

    If you need to delete several contacts at once (but not the entire phone book), you should turn to the iCloud cloud. For the method to work, you must log in with the same Apple ID on your PC and iPhone.

    We will describe the entire procedure for deleting numbers via iCloud from beginning to end:

    Step 1. IN " Settings» iPhone select section « iCloud».

    Step 2. Enter your Apple ID and password in the appropriate fields. Then click " To come in».

    Step 3. The iPhone will ask if you want to merge the information on your device with the data stored in iCloud. Select the option " Merge».

    Step 3. Switch the toggle switch " Contacts» to the active state.

    After this, you can put your iPhone aside.

    Step 4. Go to www.icloud.com from your PC and enter your Apple ID/password.

    Step 5. Hold CTRL on your keyboard and select the contacts you want to erase.

    The selected contacts will appear in the list on the right side of the screen.

    Step 6. Click on the small gear in the lower left corner.

    In the menu that appears, select the option “ Delete».

    Step 7. Confirm that you really want to erase the number - click " Delete».

    Wait a few seconds and you will see how the contacts you erased via iCloud will one by one disappear from your phone book.

    How to delete numbers from a jailbroken iPhone?

    The owner of a jailbroken iPhone has more options for deleting contacts from the mobile device. For example, he can use a tweak called Erase Contacts. The tweak is available in the BigBoss repository and is distributed completely free of charge. After installing the application, the following icon appears on the iPhone screen:

    Image: 2mobile.com

    Just click on the Erase Contacts icon and confirm the operation - all contacts from the phone book will be deleted.

    There is another way - connect the jailbroken device to your PC and erase contacts through one of the file managers (say, iTools or iFile). In the file system, the telephone directory is stored at privatevarmobileLibraryAddressBook. If your iPhone is not jailbroken, this method will not work - in the “ User system"you just can't find the folder" Private».

    Conclusion

    There are many ways to delete contacts from an iPhone. It is necessary to choose a specific method based on the goal. If a user believes that a number of useless numbers are cluttering his phone book, he can erase several entries at once via iCloud. To delete one number, there is no need to contact iCloud - you can perform this operation directly on the device. If the user is preparing the gadget for sale and wants to erase all contacts, he will have to choose one of two options - use the iTunes media harvester or simply perform a complete reset of the gadget via “ Settings».