How to Delete Multiple Contacts at Once on Your iPhone

Here's how to delete contacts on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac individually and in bulk, so you can organize your Contacts app across your Apple devices. We’ll go over the trick to delete multiple contacts on your iPhone, as well as the quickest way to delete contacts on your Mac or PC.

How To Delete a Single Contact on Your iPhone

Here's how to delete contacts on your iPhone or iPad individually, which is a lot faster than you might expect:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Tap the contact you want to delete.
3. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner of the card.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Delete Contact.
5. Tap Delete Contact again to confirm.

Now you know how to remove contacts from iPhones and iPads of any model. Going one at a time ensures you don't end up deleting anything you want to keep. Next, we'll teach you how to multi-delete contacts on iPhone directly from your iPhone or using a iCloud on a computer.

How to Delete Multiple Phone Contacts on an iPhone

If you want to bulk delete a lot of contacts on your iPhone, the quickest and easiest way to do it is on a computer. Deleting multiple contacts on your iPhone is possible, as long as the contacts you wish to delete are lined up. If you are looking to delete contacts on your iPhone that aren't listed one after another in the Contacts app, skip down to the steps on how to delete several contacts from iPhones via a Mac or PC.

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Navigate to the contacts you wish to delete. Using two fingers, tap and hold the contact you wish to delete. While keeping your two fingers on your screen, drag up or down to select the group of consecutive contacts you wish to delete.
3. Once you're done selecting contacts, take your fingers off your display and long-press one of the selected contacts. Tap Delete (Number) Contacts.
4. You'll have to confirm that you want to delete the selected contacts.

Now you know how to delete contacts on your iPhone or iPad. If the contacts are not listed together, you'll want to use your computer.

How to Delete Several Contacts from Your iPhone Using a Computer

You can remove multiple contacts at once from your iPhone using the Contacts app on your Mac or iCloud for Windows or iCloud.com if you have a PC. First, you need to check that your contacts are synced via iCloud on your iPhone and also on your Mac, if you are using one instead of a PC. On your iPhone: Open Settings, tap your Apple Account ID then tap iCloud > Saved to iCloud and make sure Contacts is on. You do not need to do anything else if you have a PC If you have a Mac, you will also need to check that you enabled Contacts in your computer's iCloud settings. To check this on a Mac with macOS Ventura or newer installed, open System Settings, click your name, click iCloud, click See All next to Saved to iCloud, and make sure the Contacts app is toggled on.

Once you've done that, you're ready to delete several contacts from your iPhone or iPad using your Mac or PC. On a PC you will access Contacts by logging in to your Apple Account at iCloud.com or downloading iCloud for Windows. :

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Make sure the All Contacts folder is selected.
3. Command-click on each contact you want to delete. Your selected contacts will be highlighted in blue.
4. Once you've selected all you'd like to delete, right click. Click Delete Cards on a Mac or Delete Contacts on iCloud.com. (Learn how to right click on a Mac)
5. In the confirmation window, click the Delete button.

That's how to delete several contacts from your iPhone using your computer. As long as Contacts is toggled on in your iCloud preferences, any changes will sync to your iPhone and other Apple devices.

As with the process on the Mac, any changes made via iCloud.com or iCloud for Windows should sync to your iPhone as well. If you often send group emails or texts, you might also be interested in learning how to create a contact group on your iPhone.

How to Delete All Contacts on iPhone

If you're selling your device or giving it away to someone else, restore the phone to factory settings. This will erase all personal information from the device while still keeping your contacts, photos, and other personal information saved in iCloud so it can be transferred to your new device. If you delete your contacts, they will be removed from iCloud, and you will not be able to sync them to your new phone.

To restore your iPhone or iPad to its factory settings, open the Settings app, tap General, and select Transfer or Reset iPhone (or Transfer or Reset iPad). Then tap Erase All Content and Settings, tap Continue, and confirm by entering your device passcode. Once you confirm, your data will be erased from the device, as if it were brand-new out of the box. This will delete all contacts on your iPhone or iPad in a way that will still keep them saved in your iCloud Contacts app.

Now you know how to delete phone contacts on your iPhone and iPad, whether you are deleting one at a time, as a grouped list, or in bulk using a computer. Next, learn how to delete duplicate contacts on your iPhone. For more iPhone organizing tutorials, check out our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

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