• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Disappearing Contacts in Google Contacts

persistentone

Well-Known Member
Sep 4, 2013
205
22
I have a number of contacts stored in Google Contacts that I use from the phone app on a Google Pixel 6 phone. Lately I am noticing that these contacts disappear if I have not used them for a while (about one year). Can someone explain why that happens? Is Google sending those into an archive status and can I retrieve them? Some of these contacts were distributors, and I had carefully added entries for each distributor location, names of managers, etc. To lose so much work is very painful, and it makes me not trust Google's product.
 
Last edited:
I have a number of contacts stored in Google Contacts that I use from the phone app on a Google Pixel 6 phone. Lately I am noticing that these contacts disappear if I have not used them for a while (about one year). Can someone explain why that happens? Is Google sending those into an archive status and can I retrieve them? Some of these contacts were distributors, and I had carefully added entries for each distributor location, names of managers, etc. To lose so much work is very painful, and it makes me not trust Google's product.

Is there any way for me to periodically archive my Google Contacts list to a file? Is there any tool that would let me selectively re-import individual entries in the saved copy of the file?
There is no archive status for contacts. My z fold 4 still has contacts from my HTC hero!!!!

Is your Google account set to sync? As long as it gets synced your contacts are saved. There is no auto deletion for contacts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AugieTN
Upvote 0
There is no archive status for contacts. My z fold 4 still has contacts from my HTC hero!!!!

Is your Google account set to sync? As long as it gets synced your contacts are saved. There is no auto deletion for contacts.
Is there a sync setting on the phone side? I know that account syncs on the computer that runs the same account.
 
Upvote 0
In the contacts app click 'fix and manage', then 'restore contacts'. I don't know how well it works or how far back it goes, I've never used it but give it a whirl and see if it helps at all.
"Restore contacts" says there is "Nothing to restore".

When I go to Google Contacts sync settings, local sync device contacts is off. But that probably should be off because you don't want Whatsapp and Telegram and other applications that maintain social contacts ending up in your global contacts? And that setting would not affect this case because I had created the contacts I care about in the Google Phone app, which I believe is saving contacts globally by default? In the Contacts app itself, it shows many hundreds of contacts synced within the last 24 hours.
 
Upvote 0
I'm confused, I have never lost a contact from Google Contacts. many have been on for years without being used. I currently have a Pixel 7
I am also confused. If the contacts had permanently disappeared, I would say either I accidentally deleted them or I am hacked. But for the contacts to "disappear" and then "reappear" looks to me more like Google's back end has a reliability issue.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones