When you say “my contacts except in WhatsApp,” it means all of the contacts you have saved in your phone or account, excluding any contacts that are only found in your WhatsApp contact list. WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that many people use to communicate with friends, family, coworkers, and more. The contacts in your WhatsApp account exist separately from the main contacts list on your phone. So “my contacts except in WhatsApp” refers to your contacts from sources like your phone’s address book, your email accounts, social media connections, etc, but does not include contacts found exclusively in your WhatsApp friends list.
Where are WhatsApp contacts stored?
WhatsApp has its own separate contacts list that is used within the app. When you add a new contact in WhatsApp, it does not automatically sync to your main contacts list on your phone. WhatsApp stores your contacts within the app itself, so it has its own distinct contacts database. This keeps your WhatsApp contacts isolated from your broader contacts list, which allows you to better manage and organize your different circles of connections. You may have some overlap between your primary contacts list and WhatsApp list, but they are still stored independently. Your WhatsApp contacts exist in a silo, while your main contacts list aggregates connections from various sources. “My contacts except WhatsApp” refers to the latter group.
Why are WhatsApp contacts separate?
There are a few key reasons why WhatsApp contacts are kept separate from your main contacts list:
- Privacy – Keeping WhatsApp contacts isolated allows you to better control who sees your connections and profile info within the app. You may not want all of your broader contacts list to have access to your WhatsApp activity and data.
- Organization – Separate contact lists allow you to better organize different groups of connections between work, personal, family etc. Your WhatsApp connections are organized distinctly.
- Syncing issues – Syncing a large WhatsApp contacts list with your broader contacts can sometimes cause issues and conflicts due to overlaps, duplicates, etc. Separating them avoids these problems.
- User control – Users want full control over which contacts they add to WhatsApp vs their main list. Separating them gives users more granular control.
So in summary, isolating WhatsApp contacts gives users more privacy, organization, flexibility, and control over their connections.
Where are my non-WhatsApp contacts stored?
Your non-WhatsApp contacts are generally aggregated and stored in your main contacts list on your phone. This master list may pull contacts from various sources, including:
- Your phone’s pre-loaded address book
- Contacts added directly to your phone
- Synced email contacts from services like Gmail
- Social media contacts from Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Business connections from LinkedIn
- Contacts synced from other cloud accounts like iCloud
- Contacts imported from SIM cards
- Any other contacts app on your phone
Your phone pulls together contacts from these various sources into one master list. This is your main contacts database that you access from your phone app, account dashboards, etc. “My contacts except WhatsApp” pulls from this master list of aggregated contacts.
How are my WhatsApp contacts different?
There are a few key differences between your WhatsApp contacts and main contacts list:
- Storage location – WhatsApp contacts only exist within the WhatsApp app, while your main contacts are on your phone.
- Syncing – WhatsApp contacts do not automatically sync with other contacts. Your main contacts list may sync across devices and apps.
- Visibility – Your WhatsApp contacts are not visible to other apps on your phone. Your main contacts are generally visible across apps.
- Sharing – You cannot export or share your full WhatsApp list with others. Your main contacts list can usually be shared.
- Data – WhatsApp may have less data like phone numbers for some contacts. Your main contacts include more robust info like emails, addresses, etc.
In summary, your WhatsApp contacts are siloed, private, and exist separately from your main, visible, shareable contacts list with more data.
How do I view my non-WhatsApp contacts?
To view your main contacts list that excludes your WhatsApp-only connections, you can access your contacts or address book through any of these methods:
- The default Phone or Contacts app on your smartphone
- Sync contacts to your email provider like Gmail and view them there
- Your account or dashboard on your phone manufacturer’s website, like Samsung or Apple
- Cloud storage services like iCloud or Google Contacts
- Social media apps like Facebook and LinkedIn
- Contact management apps like Monica or Rocket Contacts
- Sync contacts to your computer via apps like iCloud or SmartSwitch
Most modern smartphones, email services, and cloud accounts give you a way to access your master contacts list. This list includes all contacts aggregated from various sources, minus your WhatsApp-only connections.
Can I merge WhatsApp contacts into my main list?
It is possible to merge your WhatsApp contacts into your main contacts list if desired. Here are some ways to do this:
- Manually add individual WhatsApp contacts to your phone’s address book
- Export your WhatsApp contacts as a file, then import to another app
- Use a third-party app to sync WhatsApp contacts with main list
- Back up WhatsApp contacts to Google Drive, then import to Google Contacts
- Connect WhatsApp to social media like Facebook to sync contacts
However, merging WhatsApp contacts comes with some downsides to consider:
- No separation or privacy of WhatsApp connections
- Possible syncing errors and duplicate contacts
- Harder to manage different groups of contacts
- WhatsApp lacks some data like emails and addresses
In most cases, it’s recommended to keep your WhatsApp contacts and main contacts list separate. But you can combine them if desired using the methods above.
What are the risks of merging WhatsApp contacts?
Here are some of the main risks or downsides that can occur when merging your WhatsApp contacts into your main contacts list:
- Duplicate contacts – You may end up with duplicate entries for the same contact.
- Syncing errors – Constant syncing between apps can cause contacts to become out of sync or lost.
- Privacy issues – Your WhatsApp activity becomes visible to all your contacts rather than just WhatsApp connections.
- Spam risks – Spammers can more easily harvest your expanded list of contacts for marketing purposes.
- Loss of nuance – Different social circles and contexts for connections become blurred into one list.
- Data inconsistencies – WhatsApp may lack key details like emails and phone numbers stored in main contacts.
Overall, it’s usually better to keep your WhatsApp contacts and main contact list separate. But if you do merge them, be aware of potential downsides like duplicate data, syncing issues, spam risks, privacy concerns, and loss of nuance between different groups of contacts.
Conclusion
“My contacts except WhatsApp” refers to the master list of contacts aggregated from sources like your phone, email accounts, social media, and more – excluding any contacts found exclusively within your WhatsApp friends list. WhatsApp stores contacts separately from your main list for privacy, organization, ease of use, and user control. Your WhatsApp connections exist in isolation within the app itself. You can access your broader non-WhatsApp contacts from your phone, email accounts, cloud storage, and syncing apps. While it’s possible to merge your WhatsApp list into your main contacts, it’s usually better left separate to avoid duplicates, syncing problems, privacy risks, spam, and loss of nuance between different circles of contacts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep my WhatsApp contacts separate from my main contact list?
Do not manually export and import your WhatsApp contacts into another service like your phone contacts or email. Also avoid syncing services that automatically combine your WhatsApp connections with your broader list. WhatsApp is designed to silo your contacts for your privacy.
Is it bad to merge my WhatsApp contacts with my regular contacts?
It’s not necessarily bad, but keeping them separate has advantages. Merging can cause duplicate entries, syncing errors, privacy concerns, spam risks, and make organizing contacts more difficult. For most users it’s better to keep WhatsApp contacts isolated.
How do I backup my non-WhatsApp contacts?
Enable auto-syncing of your contacts to cloud services like iCloud or Google Contacts. You can also manually export your phone contacts and save them as a CSV or VCF file periodically as a backup.
What’s the easiest way to view all my non-WhatsApp contacts?
The simplest way is to open the default Contacts or Phone app on your smartphone. This shows the master list aggregated from all sources except WhatsApp contacts.
Is there a limit to how many contacts I can store outside of WhatsApp?
Most modern smartphones and contact syncing services support thousands of contacts. Contact storage is rarely an issue. Focus more on keeping contacts organized in your address book rather than number of contacts.
Key Takeaways
- “My contacts except WhatsApp” refers to your main contacts list excluding WhatsApp.
- WhatsApp contacts are separate for privacy, organization, ease of use.
- Your main contacts come from your phone, email, social, and other sources.
- You can view your non-WhatsApp contacts in your phone book, email, or cloud accounts.
- Merging your WhatsApp contacts has risks like duplicates and privacy concerns.