Where are the contacts actually stored on my Android phone ?

[JustRay]

I have a Samsung Galaxy A50
It runs Android 11
I also run the Google Contacts app version 4.2.24.508113282
Everything works fine.

I'm trying to understand where physically, the contacts that I create, are stored on the phone.
And woul appreciate a little education.

Scenario one:
Let's say that I create a new contact.
Across the top of the screen, there is a "Save to" value that contains my GMail address by default.
I fill in all of the appropriate information.
I tap on "Save".
Syncing works just fine in that in a moment or two if I go to "contacts.google.com", I can see my newly created contact.
Question:
If I could, where would I look on my phone to find the newly created contact ?

Scenario two:
Let's say that I create a new contact.
Across the top of the screen, there is a "Save to" value that contains my GMail address by default.
I fill in all of the appropriate information.
But this time before I tap on "Save", I tap on my email address in the "Save to" field of the UI.
I get a drop down menu that shows my GMail address as well as "Device".
I choose "Device".
Of note, right below the Device selection the following is displayed. "vnd.sec.contact.phone".
Finally, I tap on "Save".
Where can I find THIS newly created contact on my phone ?
I searched for "vnd.sec.contact.phone" on my phone, but have not been able to find anything with that name.
By the way, this newly created "Device" contact does NOT get synced to contacts.google.com even though I have turned on "Also sync device contacts".
Why would THAT be ?

 

[The_Chief]

Physically? On a chip inside the phone



Now, to actually answer your question. Contacts is a system application: meaning that it is generally stored in a file partition inaccessible by users. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of individual processes comprising the modern Android operating system: most of them are in the /system partition. Unless a user "roots" their phone to gain administrator-level access, these files are securely locked away.

You may find TWO Contacts applications: one is Google Contacts and will sync to any Android device in the future... regardless of manufacturer. The other is Samsung Contacts and it's great, as long as one stays in the Samsung ecosystem. Move to a Moto Razr and you're out of luck. And contacts. I hope this helps

 

[JustRay]

You reply DOES help. (Thanks for your time with my issue.)

Much appreciated.

 

[JustRay]

Very clear.
Thans for your time.