Update: Learn how to remove already synched contacts for iOS6 + iPhone5 here.
So more fallout from the Facebook debacle where it changed your default email address. Gizmodo reports that if you synch your contacts list with your Facebook friends, all kinds of things have gone wonky. Some are reporting their entire contacts list being wiped out. Those of you testing iOS6 are particularly at risk due to its deep Facebook integration.
If you never enabled contacts synching with FaceBook, high five. I’ll spare the rest of you from the lecture about allowing ANY application to interact with your contacts data. Instead, here’s how to decouple your contacts list in your phone from Facebook:
How to unsynch your iPhone
Using an iPhone, launch the Facebook app in your iPhone and select Friends. Tap the sync button on the top right and tap sync contacts. Turn off syncing.
How to unsynch your Android
If you’re on an Android phone, go the main menu, and click on Settings. Under Other Settings, select Sync Contacts. Select Remove Facebook data.
- Bradley Fitzhenry, Brand Manager MJR Creative Group
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Open FB App on the iPhone…select friends…check.
Sync Button????
The only button in the top right is the box with an arrow pointing out of it. Clicking that brings up a menu “Find Friends” and “Cancel” there is no sync button.
There is no point to having some ass hole in Spain whose only relationship to me is that he picked some berries in Farmville once six or seven months ago.
I say it’s time to put iPhone back on the shelf if they are going to pull this kind of crap.
I think I figured it out. Go to settings-down to facebook-then turn contacts off. It cleared out all the facebook contacts. I chose calendar too because do I really need the birthday of the mom from PTA that friended me? No thanks.
Thank you, Jenny! I was worried I would have to live with that messed up contact list.
Well I tried EVERYTHING and nothing Is working ! I went to my contacts settings and turned everything off and I still have my twitter contacts and my Facebook . I even deleted my account from my iPhone of my twitter and Facebook and they are still on my phone . Turned of my phone to see if it would help and that didn’t help either . So what now ?
I have the same problem as Kara – I’ve tried everything, can’t get facebook stuff out of my contacts list! Help!
Thanks jenny. I can now save people under their nicknames.
Karen and Kara. Go to your phone settings.<accounts&ync<Facebook< un check Facebook.contacts. they should disappear.
Thank you Jenny :)
hey u have to go to aacounts and settings and delete facebook/gmail account to remove those contacts. only then it works. i just tried it.
Go to your settings. Scroll down until you see Facebook. Then click on contacts off(face book)etc. then click on update. I just did it.
What about the iPhone 5??? I cannot get the fb contacts out of my phone???
Head to Settings and scroll down until you find Facebook. For the Facebook setting, you’ll see a section titled Allow These Apps to Use Your Account. Tap the slider to Off for Contacts. Now, head back to the All Contacts list and you’ll see your list returned to its state prior to iOS 6 — listing only the contacts you entered.
Yay, this worked beautifully on the Samsung galaxy S3, goto Settings/Accounts and sync, turn the slider in top right corner to “off”, then tap each app and then select remove account. That cleared it for me!!
How do you link fb contacts with phone contacts/email contacts? I have like 3 of every contact and its ridiculous… They all came over from my droid, but I could easily link all of that info under one name…how does iPhone do this?
None of this worked for me. :(
It does not work. Cause if you go to your messaging and click new message and for example just type the letter A in..all your contacts and FB friends that start with A are still there.
Thank you taylour!!!!
I am having the same issue…I’ve gone to settings and it doesn’t work for me. My FB doesn’t have a sync button.
This is a replacement phone but I remember somehow I was able to unsync by FB friends on my old phone. Just wish I remembered how I did it. I remember there was a tab saying delete FB friends.
Ok After reading all the comments and how to un-sync my contacts on my Samsung Galaxy S. III I finally had to uninstall Facebook and reinstall it. All under Settings/Accounts/Facebook I made sure I selected don’t sync when setting up account after re-install. The only options you have after you set up your account is too Sync. So you can sync any time after your account is setup, but be sure you want to do that, because you will have to start all over and uninstall and re-install if you you do not want sync options
I’m having the same problem as Brian. I removed the contact connection with Facebook so they do not appear in my contact list; however, when I go to type a message their name and number appear. I would really like to delete a few phone numbers I dont need but I cant figure out how to delete it.
I already uninstalled facebook and it still didnt work.
This is a major problem..I do not want 700 friends..that I don’t know..please get these off my iphone5
Open your settings in iOS / Scroll down and tap Facebook / Tap on your name / Tap on delete account / Tap on remove all.
That disconnects your account from your apple device but it won’t delete your Facebook app.
YESSSSSSSS thank you Jenny. People don’t forget to press update contacts, applies to calendar too.
The problem is that the Phockers at Apple automatically syncs your Facebook Contacts and backs them up into iCloud. Actually genius from a information gathering point of view but it really invades your privacy. You have to unsync your icloud contacts and refresh your contact list.
Setting–>iCloud–> uncheck contacts
another way for IPhone is to
Go to settings>scroll down until you see facebook>then slide the contacts button over to off> and update contacts
Go to your settings. Scroll down until you see Facebook. Then click on contacts off(face book)etc. then click on update. I just did it. I have iphone 5 and it worked. Yay. I was going to FB settingd instead of settings on iphone, and nothing until I found this post, and wala!!! hope this helps someone else.
Android users…go to your fb app…click account….then click app settings….scroll down and click Sync Contacts….then click remove all facebook data ;)
Hey, i have a Motorola photon and i tried everything and the only thing that works is not having it on my accounts at all. I want to be able to update statuses from my phone without going into the app itself but i dont want to have all my facebook contacts on my contact lisg or showing up in my text messaging app. Please help!
I still facing the same problem after all of u all suggestions.. I’m using iPhone 5 but I can’t delete my Facebook friend contact
If your iPhone 5 says to sign into Facebook in your PHONE settings, after scrolling all the way down up facebook, then put your Facebook email and password in, hit sign in. Just hit okay until it signs in, and then you can turn the contacts off
Go into contacts>then groups>uncheck Facebook all then reexamine contacts list. When I did this all my Facebook friends I had without a phone # went bye bye. Home this helps
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