How to hide contacts on iPhone

Can you hide contacts on your iPhone?

Unfortunately, you can't hide contacts on iPhone. iOS 16 or lower does not offer native functionality to hide contacts like Android devices. This is because the ability to hide contacts is a native feature in Google Contacts and comes pre-installed on most Android devices. If you are an iPhone user, you need to use some workarounds to hide contacts on iPhone.

How to Hide Contacts on iPhone Using Workarounds

Here are some workarounds that can help you hide contacts on iPhone and ensure maximum privacy. let's start.

Case 1: Hide Contacts from Anywhere

To hide contacts created in the Contacts app from anywhere on your iPhone, you can use the below mentioned Solution. We recommend you to start with the first one mentioned below and then browse the list until you find the one that best suits your current needs and requirements.

Method 1: Remember Contacts

The best way to hide contacts on iPhone is to simply remember the phone number. You can remember and test your memory a few times before deleting a contact. This way, you'll know the contact's exact identity when it appears as a random phone number on your iPhone. This can be a little tedious if you're trying to remember a difficult number, but it's by far the best way to ensure privacy when hiding contacts on your iPhone. Once you've memorized the number, here's how you can delete the contact from your iPhone.

Open the Phone app and tap Contacts at the bottom.

#Now tap and hold on the contact you want to delete.

Select Delete Contact.

Click Delete Contact again to confirm your choice.

The selected contacts will now be deleted from your iPhone.

Method 2: Use a different name

If you don’t want to remember a contact, you can choose to use a different name for that contact. Depending on your preference, you can use a nickname or a pseudonym. This will help ensure that only you know the contact's true identity. Here's how to rename a contact to hide it on your iPhone.

Open the Phone app and tap Contacts at the bottom.

#Tap and select the relevant contact from the list on the screen.

Now click Edit in the upper right corner of the screen.

# Click and edit the name itself at the top using a nickname or pseudonym.

Click Complete.

`

This is how you can hide a contact by using a different name on your iPhone.

Method 3: Use the Files app

The Files app on iPhone can also help you hide contacts. You can export the vCard to your Files app and then delete the contact from your iPhone. This will hide the contact and appear as an unknown number on your iPhone. You can then view the vCard when you need to access your contacts. Here's how to do it on your iPhone.

Open the Contacts app on your iPhone, then tap and hold the contact you want to hide.

Now click and select Share.

Scroll down and click Save to File.

Select the preferred location and name for your contact in the Files app. We recommend that you change contact names when sharing your iPhone to help ensure better privacy. When finished, click Save .

The contact will now be saved as a vCard. Once done, tap and hold on the contact.

Select Delete Contact.

Click Delete Contact again to confirm your choice.

#The contact will now be deleted and hidden on your iPhone. You can now use the Files app to access your contacts when you need them.

#This is what it looks like after you access the vCard in the Files app.

#This is how you can hide contacts using the Files app.

Method Four: Use a Third-Party App

If none of the above methods work for you, you can use a third-party app to store your contacts and ditch the default Contacts app entirely. Here are our picks of third-party apps that can help you hide contacts on your iPhone.

Method 1: Use Google Contacts

Google Contacts can be accessed using a web browser and allows you to hide contacts from within the app. You can take advantage of this and hide contacts on your iPhone. The downside is that you have to open Google Contacts in your browser every time you access it on your device. However, you can overcome this hurdle by adding a web icon for Google Contacts on your home screen for easier access.

Use the following steps to help you complete the process.

Note: If you wish, you can choose to export only the contacts you want to hide instead of all contacts.

Step 1: Add your contacts to Google Contacts

You can add contacts to Google Contacts by exporting them from your iCloud account as a vCard. Please follow the steps below to help you through the process.

Open iCloud.com in your browser and click Sign In.

#Now log in to your iCloud account using your Apple ID credentials.

After logging in, click the "Application" icon in the upper right corner.

Click Contact.

Click and select a contact, then press Ctrl A to select all contacts in your iCloud account.

Note: If you only want to export a few selected contacts, please hold down Ctrl and select the necessary contacts.

Now click on the Cog ( ) icon in the left sidebar.

Select Export electronic business card.

The contact will now be exported as a vCard and the download will begin. Save contacts in your preferred location on your computer.

You will now export all your iCloud contacts.

Step 2: Delete Contacts from iPhone

We can now delete your contacts so you can switch to Google Contacts. Since you can't delete contacts in bulk from an iPhone, we'll use iCloud.com instead. Please follow the steps below to help you through the process.

Open iCloud.com and log in to your Apple ID as we did in the steps above. Now click on the Apps icon and select Contatcs.

Click and select any contact, then press Ctrl A to select all contacts.

Note: If you exported only a few selected contacts that you want to hide, hold down the Ctrl key and click and select those contacts people.

Now press Delete key on your keyboard to delete the selected contact. Click Remove to confirm your choice.

The contact will now be deleted from your iCloud account and the changes will now be synced to all your devices.

Step 3: Import and Hide Contacts in Google Contacts

We can now import and hide exported contacts in Google Contacts as needed. If you want to use these steps on your phone, we recommend transfer the exported contacts to your iPhone. You also have the option of performing these steps on Google Contacts on the web on your desktop and accessing them later on your iPhone. We'll be using an iPhone in this tutorial. let's start.

Open Google Contacts on your iPhone and log in to your Google Account. If you want to add Google Contacts to your home screen, we recommend using Safari. After logging in, click the hamburger icon ( ) in the upper left corner.

Scroll down and tap Import.

Click and select the file.

#Click and select the exported vCard to transfer to your iPhone.

Click Import.

The selected vCard will now be imported into Google Contacts.

Now use the sidebar to go back to Contacts and check the boxes for the contacts you want to hide.

Click on the three dots ( ) icon at the top .

Select to hide from your contacts.

The selected contacts will now be hidden from Google Contacts. Repeat the above steps to hide any other contacts according to your preference. When finished, tap the Share icon at the bottom of the screen.

Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.

Choose a name for the app icon if you wish.

Click Add.

Google Contacts will now be added to your home screen. Click to launch the application. This may take a few seconds to load the necessary data.

#This is how you can hide your contacts using Google Contacts.

Note: The first time you use the Home screen icon, you may need to sign in again to your Google Account.

Step 4: Access Hidden Contacts

Here’s how to access hidden contacts in Google Contacts on iPhone.

Use the home screen icon or open Google Contacts in your browser. Now click on the Burger ( ) icon.

Scroll down and tap Other Contacts.

Now search for hidden contacts using the "Search" icon at the top.

#You can now access hidden contacts from search results.

#This is how you can view and access hidden contacts in Google Contacts.

Method 2: Use Private Contacts Lite

Private Contacts Lite is a standalone app that allows Face ID and passcode locking to help you hide your contacts. Here's how to use it on your iPhone.

Use the link below to download Private Contacts Lite.

• Private Contact Lite| Download Link

After downloading the app open the app and tap Not Allowed to grant Access to your contacts.

You will now be prompted to set a password. Enter and set your preferred password.

Confirm your password in the next step.

Instead of syncing your contacts with the Contacts app, tap the icon.

Create a new contact for the contact you want to hide.

NOTE: This app has a bug in dark mode where the text you type will not be visible when creating a new app. If you encounter this error, we recommend switching to light mode on your iPhone.

Click Finish after creating the contact.

#Repeat the above steps for any other contacts you wish to hide on your iPhone. We can now proceed with deleting the contact from your Contacts app. Open the app and tap and hold on the relevant contact.

Click to delete the contact.

Click Delete Contact again to confirm your choice.

The contact will now be deleted from your iPhone. While Private Contacts Lite doesn't collect any data, it does display a lot of ads. We recommend that you turn off mobile data for this app to avoid seeing too many ads. Open the Settings app and tap Mobile Data.

Now scroll through the application list and turn off the switch for P'Contacts.

That's it! You have now set up Private Contacts Lite on your iPhone. All selected contacts will now be password protected and hidden.

Case 2: Hide Contacts in Messages App

If you want to hide contacts, you may want to hide their conversations from the Messages app as well. Here's how to do it on your iPhone.

Method One: Hide Alert

First, you can hide the alert to hide the conversation in the Messages app. This isn't that efficient, but it works if you wish to hide incoming notifications and alerts from selected contacts. Please follow the steps below to help you through the process.

Open Messages and click on the conversation you want to hide alerts for. Click the contact name at the top.

Now click and turn on the switch for Hide Alerts.

That's it! Alerts for all incoming messages in selected conversations will now be hidden on your iPhone.

Method Two: Use Message Filtering

iPhone allows you to filter messages from unknown senders. These messages do not send any notifications and are added to a separate category in the Messages app. This category is well hidden and can only be discovered by users who actively look for it. You can take advantage of this by deleting a contact so that all messages in your inbox are filtered and hidden. Here's how to do it on your iPhone.

Open the "Settings" app and tap "Messages".

Now scroll down and click on Unknown & Spam under MESSAGE FILTERING.

Click and turn on the Filter unknown senders switch.

Click and select SMS Filter under SMS FILTERING.

You can now go ahead and delete the selected contacts from your device. Open the "Contacts" app and tap and hold on the relevant contact.

Select Delete Contact.

Click Delete Contact again to confirm your choice.

The contact will now be deleted from your iPhone and all their messages will now be filtered. You can use the following steps to find filtered messages.

Open Messages and click

Click and select Unknown Sender.

You can now find any received messages in hidden conversations in this list.

#This is how you can use message filtering to hide conversations with specific contacts.

Method 3: Use Recently Deleted

Messages you delete on iOS 16 and later are now sent to Recently Deleted so they can be restored later. You can use this feature to delete and restore conversations with contacts you wish to hide. Use the following steps to help you through the process.

Open a message and swipe left on the relevant conversation.

Click the delete icon.

Click Delete again to confirm your choice.

Conversations will now be hidden from messages. If you want to access the conversation, tap .

Click Recently deleted.

You will now find your deleted conversations in the list on your screen.

#This is how you can use Recently Deleted to hide conversations in the Messages app.

Hide calls from a contact

You can hide calls from a contact by disabling alerts using focus mode or manually deleting call history. Here's how to use both methods on your iPhone.

Method 1: Use Focus Mode to Disable Alerts

Open the Settings app and tap Focus.

Let's create a new Focus to disable alerts from certain contacts you wish to hide. You can also choose to make these changes within an existing focus mode if you wish. Click the icon to get started.

Click and select Customize.

#Enter a name for the new focus mode, select a glyph, and choose your preferred color.

Click Next at the bottom, then click Custom Focus at ten o’clock.

Click on the person at the top.

Click and select Mute notifications from .

Now click at the bottom to add.

#Click and select the relevant contact whose calls you want to hide.

Click Complete.

Click in the upper right corner again to complete.

All calls from the selected contact will now be muted. You will only receive badge notifications on app icons that represent the same. If you wish to disable the badge for the Phone app, use the following steps.

Open Settings and click Notifications.

Now click on the Phone app in the list on the screen.

Click and turn off the switch of Badges.

That's it! You will now hide calls from selected users, and you will no longer receive a declined call badge.

Method Two: Delete Call History Hide Calls

If you don’t want to mute the selected contacts while hiding them, then you can choose to manually delete the call history from your iPhone. Use these steps to delete call history on iPhone.

Open the "Phone " app and tap Press "Recent".

Find the log you want to delete and swipe left on it.

Click Delete.

That's it! The selected call history will now be deleted from your iPhone. You can now repeat the above steps to delete any other call history as per your preference.

Disable contact suggestions for enhanced privacy

Finally, Siri learns and recommends contacts based on your activity. These suggestions appear in many places, including the share sheet and Spotlight search. Spotlight Search can be accessed from the lock screen to make your contacts public even when your device is locked. When hiding contacts on iPhone, you can disable these suggestions to enhance privacy. Use the following steps to help you through the process.

Open the Settings app and tap Siri & Search.

Now scroll down to Search before and turn off the switch for the following option.

• Show suggestions
• Recent shows

##Similarly, close

CONTENT FROM APPLE the following switches.

Show in Find
• Show in Spotlight

##Finally, close

SUGGESTIONS FROM APPLE The following switches under

.

Allow notifications

• Show in App Library
• Show when sharing
• Show when listening

That's it! Suggested contacts will no longer appear in your share sheet or Spotlight search.

The above is the detailed content of How to hide contacts on iPhone. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!