While many Android OEMs offer their first-party apps on their smartphones, the Google Contacts app is one of the best apps for managing your contact list on Android phones. You can store detailed information about your contacts, from information like phonetic pronunciations and nicknames to job titles, birthdays, and company details. However, the app misses one key feature: the ability to sort contacts by the date they were added to the phone book.
Finding newly added contacts shouldn’t feel like a guessing game
Source: Google
We’ve all been in this situation. You meet someone new, have a great conversation, and exchange numbers. Then, a few hours or days later, you can’t recall their name. So, you scroll through your entire contact list to find that new entry. It’s difficult when you meet several people in a short time, as you have to rely on your memory and think about context clues to find the right person.
While the Google Contacts app has a Recent section under the Highlights tab, it only shows a limited number of recently created or viewed contacts. This list quickly gets overwritten if you view too many contacts or add several new ones at once. What’s missing is a dedicated filter in the main tab that lets you sort contacts by the date you added them.
Current workarounds aren’t good enough
Manual labels, text messages, and missed calls aren’t real solutions
The main tab of the Google Contacts app allows you to filter by phone contacts, email contacts, or company. However, it doesn’t have an option to filter by when you added a contact. While workarounds like sending a text message or giving a missed call when you save a new phone number are there, these methods aren’t ideal, especially in professional settings.
Google Contacts allows you to create labels for better organization. For example, you can add a label for contacts from your favorite sports team and create a label like “New” for recently added contacts. But again, this isn’t an efficient way to solve this within Google Contacts. Think about how useful this feature would be for people working in sales, marketing, or any job that involves frequent networking.
Moreover, other apps and platforms have already implemented this feature. Apps like LinkedIn and third-party tools like Contacts+ have offered sorting by recently added for years. Even Telegram notifies you when a new contact is using the platform. So, why should Google Contacts, the default app for managing contacts on millions of Android phones, lag behind in offering such a basic yet essential feature?
Time for an upgrade
It’s time for Google to prioritize user needs
Google Contacts has come a long way. While features like a new UI for the contact creation page and a personal touch with Besties for your favorite contacts are great, it’s time for the app to add the feature users want. Sorting by the date added would immediately bring your new entries to the top and let you find the contact you’re looking for without scrolling through your entire address book.
Nonetheless, despite this missing functionality, Google Contacts remains an excellent app. It’s useful for syncing contacts across devices and merging duplicate contacts. But there’s always room for improvement. If you’re curious about more hidden features in Google’s apps, check out our detailed guide.
