Full Guide to Managing Whatsapp Contacts

James Davis

Feb 29, 2024 • Filed to: Manage Social Apps • Proven solutions

We love using our messaging apps, but with multiple apps comes a messy task of organising them since not every app has the same contacts management ability. This goes the same for WhatsApp. It is really easy to add or delete contacts, but when you start to have multiple contacts entries on different apps that try to sync with each other, a duplication mess may eventually ensue.

Has your OCD side panic yet? Chill... we have you covered with this full guide to managing WhatsApp contacts just for you.

Part 1: Add Contacts to WhatsApp

Adding a person into your WhatsApp contacts list is super easy since the app pulls all the contact details available in your address book into its database. So, if your contacts use WhatsApp, they will appear automatically in your "Favourites" list. However, you will need to make sure that WhatsApp has the clearance to do this in your phone's privacy settings.

Alternatively, if you are concerned about your privacy, you can manually add your contacts:

1.Head to WhatsApp > Contacts .

2.Click the (+) button to start putting a new contact entry.

manage whatsapp contacts

3.Key in all the person's details and click Done.

manage whatsapp contacts

Part 2: Delete A Contact on Whatsapp

Have you ever scrolled down your WhatsApp contact list and find a contact entry that is empty or irrelevant? How often do you find yourself asking where you met this person and why you have their contact details? Personally, we would always delete this type of entries to avoid clutter in our phones.

1.Open the Contacts >list and find the contact you want to delete. Open the contact.

manage whatsapp contacts

2. Open the contact info window and click on the "..." button. Tap on the View in address book option. Deleting the contact will mean that it will not only be deleted in your WhatsApp list, but on your address book as well.

manage whatsapp contacts

manage whatsapp contacts

Part 3: Remove Duplicate Contacts on Whatsapp

Duplicate contacts usually happen when you return your phone to its factory settings, change SIMs or accidentally create copies of your contacts. You should be able to delete duplicated contacts just as you would like a normal deletion action manually and individually (refer to the steps above). However, this will take a lot of time and if the contact entries contain different data sets, it would probably be much easier to merge your contacts.

The easiest way to merge these details is probably by using your Gmail account - just make sure that you have your Gmail synced with your phone:

1.Open your Gmail account. Click the Gmail button - a drop-down menu will appear. Click Contacts to access all your contacts.

manage whatsapp contacts

2.Click More and subsequently click the Find & Merge Duplicates... option when you are able to.

3.Gmail will then pick up all the duplicated contacts. Click Merge to merge your contacts with corresponding entries.

manage whatsapp contacts

4.Since you already have Gmail synced with your phone, your WhatsApp contact list should now be updated.

Part 4: Why Whatsapp Contact Name Not Showing

Do numbers appear instead of your contacts' names? This is a rather common problem that many people face. If you have tried closing and relaunch the app, there are several reasons why this could happen:

1.Your contacts do not use WhatsApp. They will not appear in your list if they are not registered with the app.

> 2.You did not save your contact's phone number properly. This often happens when they live in another country. To solve this, make sure that you save their phone numbers in full international format.

3.You are using an older version of WhatsApp - make sure you update your app when updates are available.

4.Your contacts may not be visible to your apps. To enable visibility, go to Menu > Settings > Contacts > Show all contacts . This should immediately solve your problem.

manage whatsapp contacts

If you cannot see them still, refresh your WhatsApp: WhatsApp > Contacts > ... > Refresh

manage whatsapp contacts

Part 5: Tips on Managing Your Phone Contacts

In this day and age, it is hard to keep up with the many technology we use. They are awesome at what they do, but sometimes they create a hot mess on our phones. We juggle multiple accounts with contacts for different purposes. 

I once had over hundreds of contacts on my phone, but do not be fooled. It is not that I was important, it was because I was disorganized. For one person, I had multiple entries e.g. Sis' Mobile, Sis' Office, Sis' Mobile 2 etc. I had to scroll forever to find the right person I want to call or text!

So, how did I get myself out of this mess? Here's how:

  • 1. Merge all my contact entries of one person together - so now instead of having 10 entries on my sister, I only have one and all her contact details are homed together.
  • 2.Backup all my contacts so that I do not need to message everyone to send their contact details and mess up my phone again.
  • 3.Limit your accounts to two - personal and professional. You do not need another account for online shopping or your side business.

Now that you are equipped with all the steps you need to do to manage your WhatsApp contacts, you can start organising them in a better way! As you can see, there are no fancy apps needed and it only takes a few clicks to complete. Easy right?

You should no longer have the excuse to not properly manage your contacts anymore!

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James Davis

James Davis

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