Some contacts on your phone or tablet may not be saved as Google contacts. For example, some apps save contacts in device storage, which means they can only be managed on that device. Changes you make to these contacts don’t sync across Google services or to other signed-in devices. If the device is ever lost or damaged, these contacts may be lost.
To keep your contacts backed up and synced to all your devices, you can automatically save device and SIM contacts as Google contacts. Google contacts are available across Google services and can be managed on any signed-in device. If the original device is lost or damaged, the contacts can automatically sync to a new device when you sign in.
These steps work only on Android.
Back up & sync device & SIM contacts
To back up and sync your device and SIM contacts, save them as Google contacts:
-
On your Android phone or tablet, open the "Settings" app.
-
Tap Google
Settings for Google apps
-
Turn on Sync device and SIM contacts automatically.
-
Pick the account you’d like your contacts to be saved in. Your contacts can only be automatically saved to one Google Account.
Settings for Google apps Tip: You can’t back up contacts to a child’s account or a G Suite account (one you use for work or school).
Your existing device and SIM contacts are automatically saved as Google contacts and are synced to your Google Account. This also applies to any device and SIM contacts that you’ll add in the future.
When you sign out of a phone or tablet, all your Google contacts will be removed from that device to prevent other people who use that device from accessing them. Your Google contacts will remain in your Google Account and sync to a new device when you sign in.
Tip: Automatic backup and sync of device and SIM contacts depends on your device’s make and model.
What about contacts that sync with other cloud services?
Contacts that sync with other cloud services (like Exchange, Yahoo, or others) cannot be automatically saved as Google contacts. Learn how to import contacts.
Tip: To use device contacts across Google services without saving them as Google contacts, turn on Save contact info from your devices. That setting includes SIM contacts and contacts syncing with other cloud services, but you can only manage them on the original device. To back up device contacts without saving them as Google contacts, learn how to back up data on your Android device.
Stop device & SIM contacts sync & remove contacts from your Google Account
To stop the device and SIM contacts to automatically save as Google contacts:
-
On your Android phone or tablet, open the "Settings" app.
-
Tap Google
-
Turn off Sync device and SIM contacts automatically.
Contacts that have already been saved as Google contacts will remain in your account unless you manually remove them.
Learn how to move Google contacts to another account using the Contacts app.
Learn how to export Google contacts to another account on the web. Exported contacts won’t be removed from your account unless you delete them.