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How to share and sync Google Contacts between multiple accounts
Share a label of Google Contacts with other Google accounts and keep it in sync, so everyone on a team or in a family sees the same up-to-date contact list on their phone and computer.
By Nur Islam- 3:51 video
- 6 steps
- 7.2K views
Jump to a step (6)
Small teams and families each keep their own copy of client, supplier or family contacts. When a number changes, someone updates one account and the others go out of date, because Google Contacts has no built-in way to share a list.
Google does not let you share contacts directly between accounts, so the video uses a third-party service called Shared Contacts for Gmail (getsharedcontacts.com). You share a Google Contacts label, and every contact with that label syncs to the people you invite.
You can give each person edit rights or view-only access. Changes made by anyone with edit rights sync back to everyone.
What you need
- A Google account with Google Contacts
- A Shared Contacts for Gmail account, signed in with Google
- The email addresses of the Google accounts you want to share with
Step by step
0 of 6 done-
01
Sign in to Shared Contacts for Gmail
Go to getsharedcontacts.com and sign in with your Google account. The dashboard lists your Google Contacts labels. Each label is a list you can share.
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02
Create a label in Google Contacts
Open Google Contacts and create a new label for the contacts you want to share (the video uses
Test Sharing). Go back to the Shared Contacts dashboard and refresh. The new label appears. -
03
Share the label
Choose the label and add the email address of the account you want to share with.
- Turn on the option that lets the user access the shared contacts on their mobile devices, if they need them on their phone.
- Set the access level: full edit rights, or view only (used in the video).
Click Share. The other person gets an invitation to join the shared list.
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04
Add contacts to the label
In Google Contacts, select a contact and apply the shared label. Any contact with this label is now part of the shared list.
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05
Sync now instead of waiting
Shared contacts usually appear in the other accounts within 24 hours. To sync right away, open the Shared Contacts dashboard and click Sync, or use the service's Chrome extension.
Reload Google Contacts in the second account and the shared contact is there.
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06
Update a shared contact
Edit the contact in any account that has edit rights. The change is mirrored to everyone, normally within 24 hours, or right away if you click Sync in the dashboard.
Tips and common problems
- Changes can take up to 24 hours to reach other accounts. Use Sync in the dashboard or the Chrome extension when you need them sooner.
- Contact photo sharing is turned off at first. In the video it was switched on by contacting the service's support team.
- Use view-only access for people who should see the list but not change it, such as staff looking up client numbers.
- Turn on the mobile access option when you share, or the contacts may not show on the other person's phone.
Questions
Can I share Google Contacts with another Gmail account?
Not with Google Contacts alone. It has no share option for regular accounts. A service like Shared Contacts for Gmail shares a contact label with other Google accounts and keeps it in sync.
Do shared Google Contacts update for everyone?
Yes. When someone with edit rights changes a shared contact, the update is mirrored to the other accounts, usually within 24 hours, or immediately after a manual sync.
Will shared contacts show up on my phone?
Yes, if the mobile access option is turned on when the label is shared. The contacts sync into the other person's Google account, which their phone already uses.
