How to Recover Google Contacts

Google Contacts can be restored if you accidentally delete or modify them. To do this, log into your Google account, access your contacts list, choose the recovery period, and restore them. It is also advised to back up your contacts just in case. Google can only restore contact data from the past 30 days, so if you wait too long after making changes, there is a chance your contacts may not be restored successfully.

Visit Google Contacts and sign in to your Google Account. Enter your email address and password, then click 'Sign in.' You will be directed to your account's contacts profile.

• You can also access this page by signing in to Gmail and selecting 'Contacts' from the 'Gmail' menu in the top-left corner.

Click on 'Restore Contacts'. This option appears in the left sidebar, and a window will pop up allowing you to choose a recovery period.

• If you don't see this option, click 'More' in the left sidebar to expand the menu. The menu is expanded by default.

Select the recovery time from the list. Choose a time before the contacts were changed (for example, if the contacts were modified yesterday, select a recovery time at least 2 days prior).

• If you prefer not to use the default options, you can restore from a custom time, but the maximum period is 30 days before.

Click on 'Restore'. This button is located at the bottom of the recovery window and will restore your contacts to the state they were in at the selected recovery time.

Visit Google Contacts and sign in to your Google Account. Enter your email address and password, then click 'Sign in'. You will be directed to your account's contact profile.

Click on 'Export'. This button can be found in the left sidebar.

• The export process generally does not support the preview of Google Contacts (enabled by default), so you will be automatically redirected to the old version of Google Contacts.

Open the 'More' menu and select 'Export'. This menu is located right below the search bar. The export window will pop up.

Select export settings. By default, the 'Export All' option is selected. However, you can also choose to export only a specific group or contact.

• To export specific contacts, you need to check the boxes next to each contact's name before selecting 'Export' from the menu.

Choose the file format for your contacts. Google CSV is the format used for importing into another Google account (this is the best option for backing up a Google account). You can also select Outlook CSV or vCard if you frequently use Microsoft or Apple products.

Click on 'Export'. A save dialog will appear.

Select a save location and click 'Save'. The backup file along with your Google Contacts will be stored in the location you choose.

Go to Google Contacts and log into your Google Account. Enter your email address and password, then click 'Sign in'. You will be directed to the contacts profile of your account.

Click on 'Import…'. This button is located in the left sidebar and will open a window to choose the import source.

Click on 'Choose File'. A new window will open, allowing you to browse for the contact file you created when exporting data previously.

Select the contact file and click 'Open'. The file will appear in the import window.

Click on 'Import'. The contacts from the selected file will be added to your Google contacts list.

• Store the exported contact file in a safe location, such as an external backup drive.
• Currently, the contact recovery process cannot be done through the mobile app; it must be completed on the website.
• If you frequently update your contact list, consider exporting the contact file regularly.

• Regardless of whether you select a custom time, Google can only back up contact information from the past 30 days. You must act within this time frame or manually create a backup before the data is permanently lost.