The Messages app allows iPhone users to pin their most important contacts and group texts to the top of the Messages app, making it faster and easier to send a text message to the people you message the most. You can pin up to nine text threads, and if you change your mind, it's just as easy to unpin contacts in Messages. We'll walk you through both!
Contacts
Create a Custom Contact Poster to Display Your Name in Style
By Rachel Needell
With the release of iOS 17, Apple introduced a feature called the Contact Poster. Contact Posters let you choose what people see when you call them, so now you can display your favorite photo when calling your friends. I love this new feature and have already been experimenting and playing around with all the customization options. Here's how to do it!
How to Send Contact Info on iPhone with NameDrop in iOS 17
By Rachel Needell
NameDrop is a cool new feature that is available with Apple's most recent iOS 17 release. NameDrop effectively replaces the business card by making it super quick and easy to exchange contact cards with another iPhone user. Using the same technology as AirDrop, NameDrop lets users connect wirelessly by simply holding the iPhones close together. Here's how it works!
Customize Someone Else's Contact Poster on Your iPhone (iOS 17)
By Amy Spitzfaden Both
Contact Posters are one of the most fun new features to play around with, but you might not always want to use the picture someone else has picked out. Whether it's a painful reminder of an ex's new relationship or a picture you find a bit off-color, knowing how to change someone's Contact Poster is a handy tip as your friends go wild with customization. Let's learn how to do it.
How to Delete Duplicate Contacts on iPhone (iOS 16)
By Rhett Intriago
Whether you have duplicates contacts because of transferring data between devices or because you've saved a new number in a separate contact card, you can now easily merge contacts in iOS 16. We'll show you how to remove duplicate contacts on your iPhone.
Hidden Tips & Tricks for Your iPhone (iOS 16)
By Amy Spitzfaden Both
What to Know
- Access your iPhone's fun (and often overlooked!) features.
- Use hidden shortcuts to accomplish your goal with fewer steps.
Our iPhones are capable of so much, yet many of us only scratch the surface with our daily use. Expanding your iPhone skills doesn’t mean you have to create feature-length movies or become a high-level app developer. You can simply learn hidden features that make your daily tasks easier. So, let’s take a look at the best hidden iPhone tricks to make your iOS use a little easier and a lot more fun.
How to Block an Email Address on Your iPhone
By Leanne Hays
Nobody can live without email, but we all can live without spam, dubious pharmaceutical offers, and emails from that one coworker who sends you last year’s memes on the regular. If you’ve ever wondered how to block email on iPhone using the Mail app, keep reading. We’ll show you how to make your inbox a lot more pleasant.
How to Unblock a Number on the iPhone
By Cullen Thomas
Unblocking a number on your iPhone couldn’t be easier, thanks to the forward thinkers at Apple who knew that the handy block feature should not be permanent. That’s because it’s easy to block someone accidentally or unknowingly. Maybe you were blocking robo-callers or spam texters and blocked a contact by mistake. Or maybe you intentionally blocked a friend or colleague so as not to be disturbed for a period of time and now you want to undo that. Or maybe you’re having trouble calling a contact, or vice versa, so you want to find the blocked list and check to see if that number is on it. Here’s how to do it.
iCloud Contacts Not Syncing? Try These 5 Tips
By Elisabeth Garry
Are you having trouble with contacts not showing up on iPhone or Mac? If you're struggling with how to sync contacts from to iPhone to Mac or iPad, or vice versa, we've put together a list of troubleshooting tips to help you get your contacts back.
Keep Favorite Contacts on iPhone Home Screen with Contacts Widget
By Elisabeth Garry
iOS 15 has brought a lot of changes to your iPhone, and the new Contacts widget is one of the most useful of these. Learning how to make a widget on your iPhone Home screen is easy, and adding your most frequent contacts to your Home screen with the Contacts widget is no different. Let's learn how to save contacts to the iPhone Home screen!
iPhone Basics: How to Send a Text Message
By Hallei Halter
If you're not able to make a phone call, you can send a text! For experienced iPhone users, texting is generally second nature. But other iPhone users are unsure where to get started. This tip is for them. Sending and receiving text messages is quick and convenient. I prefer texting since it's quiet and talking on the phone isn't my favorite thing to do. I can also send a text and maybe get a reply faster than if I had to call and leave a voicemail. Here's how to send a text message on your iPhone.
How to Change Work & Home Addresses in Maps on an iPhone
By Conner Carey
Set your home address in the Google or Apple Maps app so it's easy to get directions from your current location to home. Set a work address and add favorites in Apple or Google Maps, and getting directions takes just a few taps. You can also edit and update the location of your home, work, or other favorites on your iPhone.
How to Add a Contact to the Contacts App on Your iPhone
By Hallei Halter
The Contacts app keeps all your phone numbers and other contact info in one place, and also integrates in really useful ways with Maps, Siri, and other iPhone features. Here's how to add a contact on your iPhone.
How to Set a Reminder for When You Message Someone
By Leanne Hays
If you use Apple's Reminders app to keep on top of your chores, events, and tasks, there's a convenient feature you'll want to try out. The Reminders app now allows users to tag a contact when they create a new reminder. Once you do this, a reminder notification will pop up on your iPhone next time you use the Messages app to text your tagged contact.
How to Merge Duplicate Contacts on Your iPhone
By Conner Carey
Want to know how to remove duplicate contacts in your iPhone? When you have multiple entries in Contacts for a single person, you can link the contacts together into a unified contact card. However, if you link two contacts with different first or last names, only one name appears on the unified card, so you'll need to decide which name to use.
The Fastest Way to Share Contact Information from Your iPhone
By Sarah Kingsbury
You can send contact details (also known as a contact card) via text or email directly from the Contacts app in your iPhone. Do you often find yourself typing out phone numbers or addresses into a text when you need to share one contact's information with another contact? Well, you'll be happy to hear that there's a much easier way to share contact information on your iPhone—and it doesn't involve copying and pasting or tediously typing it out.
The Contacts app sorts your contacts into last name, first name order, and displays contacts in first name, last name order. To organize your iPhone or iPad contacts differently, reverse these settings.
How to Customize Your iMessage Icon with a Picture, Animoji, Memoji, or Initials (Updated for iOS 14)
By Cullen Thomas
Customize your contact icon in the Messages app, and you’ll be able to share any picture on your iPhone, including a Memoji, Animoji, or emoji or initials with a custom color with anyone you message. You can also edit your iMessage profile picture and name. Once it’s set, you can choose whether to make your profile name and image visible to everyone in your contacts list or only to select contacts. Let’s get started.
Did you know that the person you've invited can call into your meeting straight from their iPhone's Calendar app? We'll show you how to use this easy and efficient way to keep calls and meetings on time and in order. We've already gone over how to get directions from the Calendar app, and also how to create events and meetings in your iPhone's Calendar app, then invite people to them; let's get started learning how to use this iPhone Calendar app feature.
How to Let Individual Contacts Reach You When Do Not Disturb Is Turned On for All Contacts
By Conner Carey
The Do Not Disturb function on iPhone allows you to silence all incoming calls, texts, and notifications. Here's how to bypass Do Not Disturb for individual contacts using a feature called Emergency Bypass. This allows the people designated to reach you on your iPhone even if your Do Not Disturb settings are set to silence calls and texts from everyone. Here's how you can tweak the a contact's settings to override Do Not Disturb when it’s turned on so that you’ll still hear their incoming call or text or both.