Whether you've left a job, ended a relationship, or just don't need your old plumber's number anymore, it's easy to delete contacts off of your iPhone.
Once you've removed a contact, you can also take the extra step and block them so they can't contact you.
Here's how to delete individual or multiple contacts at once.
How to delete contacts on iPhone
There are three ways to delete contacts on your iPhone.
Delete individual contacts
1. Open the Contacts app on your iPhone, or open the green Phone app and tap the Contacts tab at the bottom of the screen.
2. Scroll to the contact you want to delete and tap on their name.
3. Tap Edit at the top-right corner of the contact's information page.
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and hit the words Delete Contact written out in red.
5. Tap the red Delete Contact button that pops up to confirm your choice.
Delete multiple contacts at once
You'll need to have a computer to do this and your iCloud account set to save contacts beforehand.
1. Head to the iCloud website and sign into your account. You might need to enter a code sent to your iPhone.
2. Click Contacts.
3. Find the contacts you want to delete and select them all at once. The way to do this will differ depending on whether you're using a Mac or PC.
- On a Mac, hold Command as you click each contact you want to delete.
- On a PC, hold Ctrl as you click each contact you want to delete.4.
4. Once you have them all selected, click the gear icon in the bottom-left of the screen, and then Delete.
5. You'll be asked to confirm that you want to delete the contacts. Click Delete.
Third-party contact deletion methods
If you want to delete multiple contacts at once using your mobile device, downloading a free third-party app is your best bet. Note that you'll need to grant these apps access to your contacts in order for them to work.
- Groups: In addition to deleting multiple contacts at once, it can also group contacts together by category, sort your contacts by the date they were added to your phone, and merge duplicate contacts.
- Clean My Photos: Clean My Photos is designed to help you free up storage space on your iPhone. It deletes duplicate contacts, photos, and videos with just one tap. It can filter and remove contacts that don't have a phone number, name, or email address, and even monitors your iPhone's battery health.
- Delete Contacts+: This app can delete multiple contacts at once, backup and restore contacts, and sort contacts by a common field (like a company or email domain). For an added fee it can merge contacts that have the same name so that all of their phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses are in one place.
Delete all contacts
If you want to get rid of every contact at once, you'll also need to use your iCloud account.
1. Open your iPhone's Settings app and tap your name at the top to open the Apple ID menu.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. On the page that opens, check to see if the toggle switch next to Contacts is enabled. If it is, tap it to turn it off.
4. You'll be asked what you want to do with your contacts. Select Delete from My iPhone.
How to block a contact so they can't call you
If there's a number in your contact list that you'll never need or want to hear from again, then delete it.
Even after deleting, if that contact has your phone number, they'll still be able to call you and send texts. To stop this, you should block them before you delete their contact listing.
1. Open the Contacts or Phone app and tap the contact you want to block.
2. Scroll to the bottom of their information page and select Block this Caller.
3. Tap Block Contact to confirm your choice.
