{"id":200215,"date":"2026-08-12T13:28:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/?p=200215"},"modified":"2026-08-12T13:28:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:28:06","slug":"how-to-set-up-favorite-contacts-on-your-iphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/how-to-set-up-favorite-contacts-on-your-iphone\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up favorite contacts on your iPhone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learn how to set up favorite contacts on your iPhone, so they appear in a dedicated section, making it quicker to call, text, FaceTime, WhatsApp, or email close people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Favorites <\/p>\n

Marking an important contact as a favorite is one of the easiest ways to speed dial on iPhone<\/a>. Just one tap is all you need to call a favorite person.<\/p>\n

And you’re not limited to just marking only a person’s phone number as the favorite. You also have the option to add their texting number, WhatsApp number, or email address as a favorite. Tapping those will open the Messages, WhatsApp, or Mail apps as appropriate.<\/p>\n

Favorite contacts appear at the top of the Calls tab or in their own dedicated Favorites tab in the Phone app (more on that below).<\/p>\n

Add favorite contacts on iPhone<\/h2>\n

1)<\/strong> Make sure you have saved the person’s phone number or email address to your iPhone.<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong> Go to your iPhone contacts and tap the person’s name.<\/p>\n

3)<\/strong> Scroll down and tap Add to Favorites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Add <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong> Depending on the contact, you’ll see one or more of these options:<\/p>\n

Messages:<\/strong> Tap it, select Messages, WhatsApp, or another supported chat app shown here. Then, tap the mobile number or email address to add it to your favorites. Going forward, tapping that favorite entry will open a texting window with this person in Messages, WhatsApp, or the relevant app.<\/p>\n

Call:<\/strong> Tap it, select Phone (to make a regular cellular call), FaceTime Audio, WhatsApp, or another supported app, and then tap the phone number. If the person uses their email address for FaceTime<\/a>, you can select that as well. From now on, just one tap on this favorite entry will start a phone call with this person.<\/p>\n

\"Adding <\/p>\n

Video:<\/strong> Tap it, select FaceTime, WhatsApp, or another app, and tap their mobile number or email address. Touching this in your Phone app Favorites section will initiate a video call with this person.<\/p>\n

Mail:<\/strong> Tap it and then select an email address you have added to this person’s contact card. From now on, tapping this favorite entry will open a new email compose box in the Apple Mail app or whatever app you have set as the default<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See all your favorite contacts in one place<\/h2>\n

If you’re using the default Unified Phone app layout, then your favorite contacts appear as big tiles at the top of the Calls<\/strong> tab. In case you have added more than 8 favorites, tap Show All<\/strong> to see the rest. Stupidly enough, there is no Hide All<\/em> option, and you’ll have to force-quit and reopen the Phone app<\/a> to get back to just two rows in favorites.<\/p>\n

\"Seeing <\/p>\n

If you have switched to the Classic Phone app layout<\/a>, you’ll see all your favorite contacts in a dedicated Favorites<\/strong> tab.<\/p>\n

\"Seeing <\/p>\n

Tapping a favorite contact in either layout will instantly initiate an audio or video call, or open the text or email compose screen.<\/p>\n

Change the order of your favorite contacts<\/h2>\n

In the Unified Phone app layout, tap the Edit<\/strong> button, followed by Edit Favorites<\/strong>. Then touch and hold a favorite contact and drag it to another spot.<\/p>\n

\"Change <\/p>\n

In the Classic Phone app layout, tap the Edit<\/strong> button, and then drag the hamburger icon<\/strong> next to a favorite contact up or down to change their position.<\/p>\n

\"Change <\/p>\n

Remove a contact from favorite<\/h2>\n

In the Unified layout, touch and hold the favorite contact tile and tap Remove Favorites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the Classic layout, swipe left<\/strong> on a favorite contact and tap the delete icon.<\/p>\n

This only removes the favorite entry; it does not delete the contact itself.<\/p>\n

\"Removing <\/p>\n

I use the Classic Phone app layout\u2026<\/h2>\n

I have added phone numbers of all my family members to my Favorites. And since I have not memorized their mobile numbers, I regularly need to look them up when paying their phone bills and such.<\/p>\n

The new Unified layout requires me to touch and hold the entry and then tap View Contact<\/em>. In comparison, in the old Classic layout, I only need to tap the info icon \u24d8 to view the full contact, which is much faster. This is why I have switched my iOS 26 and iOS 27 Phone app to the old Classic layout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"View <\/p>\n

But if you prefer the new Unified look, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes setting up Contact Posters<\/a> for people who haven’t set it up on their end or who don’t have an iPhone. Contact Posters and contact photos make the Favorites interface more beautiful.<\/p>\n

Also, check out:<\/strong><\/p>\n