If you use Workspace, you can give other users in your domain permission to access and manage your contacts. These delegates can add and update your contacts with information like names, phone numbers, and addresses.
Your contacts delegates now have more management options. If you had delegates prior to the latest update they might have lost access if you did not reapprove them. However, you can always re-invite them.
Important: Access to your contacts doesn't grant access to your email account.
Requirements
- Your Directory administrator must turn on contact sharing. If you’re an admin, learn how to turn the global Directory on or off.
- You can delegate contacts only to people in the same domain or org as you.
- You and your delegates must be signed in to your accounts with your work or school.
- You and your delegates must be on a computer, not a phone or tablet.
Delegate your contacts
- Navigate to Google Contacts.
- Make sure that you're signed in with your work or school account.
- At the top right, click Settings
Delegate access.
- Click Invite delegate.
- Enter the name or email address of the person you want to give permission to manage your contacts.
- Tip: You can enter up to 25 names, separated by commas.
- Click Send.
The users you invite can now access your Contacts.
Tip: Users can't view and edit delegated contacts with the Contacts app from a mobile device.
About what delegates can and can't do
Delegates can:
- Add new contacts with the “Create contact” or “New contact” buttons.
- Edit or delete contacts in the delegated contacts list.
- Search for contacts in the search bar.
- Undo changes.
- Add, edit, and delete labels for contacts in the delegated contacts list.
- Manage Other contacts.
Delegates can’t:
- Import contacts.
- Export or forward contacts.
- Find and merge duplicates.
- Change the settings or preferences.
- Find and delete contacts from trash.
Manage contacts delegated to you
If someone in your organization gives you access to their contacts, you can manage their contacts from your account.
- Navigate to Google Contacts.
- Make sure that you're signed into your work or school account.
- On the left menu, select the name of a person who delegated their contacts to you.
- You can now manage their contacts.
- Contacts you add or edit when you manage their contacts will appear in their contacts, not yours.
You can now:
- Add, edit, and delete their contacts.
- Search within their contacts with the search bar.
- If you search for a delegated contact with the same email or name as a directory contact, the autocomplete result returns the directory contact.
- (Available as of November 2023) Add, edit, and delete labels for their contacts.
- (Available as of November 2023) Manage their Other contacts.
To switch between people who have delegated their contacts to you, select the delegator's name. You can only review and manage contacts for the person you've selected.
Search contacts delegated to you
If you have many contacts delegated to you, you might need to search the list of contacts to quickly find a contact. To search delegated contacts:
- Navigate to Google Contacts.
- Make sure that you're signed into your work or school account.
- At the top left, click Menu
- In the search box at the top, enter the name or email of the contact you want to search for and press Enter.
Tip: If you search for a delegated contact who has the same email or name as a directory contact, the autocomplete result returns the directory contact.