November 15, 2023, 7:44 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Some may be familiar with this little shock moment: One or more WhatsApp contacts suddenly disappear. Although the reasons are varied, lost contacts can be relatively easily restored. TECHBOOK shows how.
This can happen for various reasons: A friend or acquaintance suddenly can’t be found on WhatsApp. In most cases, it’s due to setting up a new smartphone, a missing update, or because users accidentally deleted the contact. But first, the good news: Often, there’s no need to worry, as contacts can be relatively easily restored.
Display WhatsApp Contacts Again
WhatsApp on Android
If a single contact has disappeared from your WhatsApp list, you should first check whether WhatsApp has synchronized all contacts on your smartphone. On an Android device, it may happen that users have hidden the phone’s contacts. In this case, they will not be displayed on WhatsApp.
Go to WhatsApp and click on the message icon at the bottom right. Select the three vertical dots and then choose the “Refresh” option. Now all smartphone contacts should be displayed in the messenger again.
It’s possible that WhatsApp’s access to your contacts has been revoked, or you accidentally denied access. Navigate to “Apps” in the Android settings and select WhatsApp there. Under “Permissions,” you can see if WhatsApp is allowed to access your contacts. Here you can grant access and then synchronize your contacts as described above.
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WhatsApp on iOS
Even on the iPhone, you must first allow the app to access your contacts. In the iPhone settings, you can find the “Privacy” menu item and then “Contacts.” This must be turned on to grant WhatsApp permission to use your contacts.
Photo: TECHBOOK
Read also: How to transfer WhatsApp chats to a new smartphone
Find Deleted Contacts Again
If you deleted the missing contact, it might still be in the trash with some luck. Open the Contacts app and the three-dot menu. Open the trash and restore the displayed contact. A common default setting is that deleted contacts remain in the trash for 30 days before being permanently deleted.
In this case, you might still find your contact list in the backup–provided you created one. You can then add the missing contact back to the current contact list and manually synchronize it with WhatsApp if necessary.
If you have synchronized WhatsApp with your Google account, the account can also help you. In Gmail, select “Contacts” and then “Restore contacts.” Users can choose the time frame to which they want to reset the contact list. This way, you can also recover the deleted contact.
If none of this helps, there’s only one option left: tools to recover the contact. Software searches the phone for deleted data to restore it on the device. Various apps in both the App Store and Play Store can recover data. For Android devices, there’s Dumpster, and for iOS, for example, Apowersoft Manager (paid).