Google Contacts App

The Google Contacts app is an essential tool for organizing your contacts and their phone numbers. Although it might not have mind-blowing features, it is an important app to have on your phone. Google has been constantly improving the capabilities of its Contacts app, including adding widgets for direct dialing, messaging, and getting in contact with anyone on the list.

Highlights Tab

In January, Google added a new tab called “Highlights” that displays the contacts you have looked up the most on the top half of the screen. On the bottom half of the display, you can see the contacts you’ve most recently looked up and those that were just added.

Birthday Reminder

Google Contacts version 4.2 adds a “For You” tab to the app that helps to remind you of birthdays and other significant dates. This tab is found between the “Favorites” and “Recents” tabs at the bottom of the screen. By tapping on this tab, users can view the profile of the contact, including their picture, name, birth date, and a countdown of their next birthday. Additionally, there is a shortcut to call or text the contact. This profile card is the same as the one seen in the Google Messages app when you open your chats from a certain party and press on their name at the top of the screen.

Adding Significant Dates

You can add a birth date, anniversary or any particular date by tapping the editing pencil on the upper right side of the display. That will open several fields that you can edit or add information to. At the bottom are two fields that say Significant date with a Label field underneath each one. The first Label field says Birthday by default. Type the contact’s birth date into the first significant date field. For the second significant date, tap on the Label field at the bottom of the screen. If you don’t have an anniversary date for that contact, you will see options for No label, Anniversary (again, the default selection), Other, and Custom. You can add more fields by tapping on the “More fields” link at the very bottom of the screen.

Opening the Google Contacts App

The Google Contacts app can be opened by tapping on the Phone icon on an Android phone and then pressing the Contacts tab on the bottom of the screen. If, for some reason, you need to install the app on your Android phone, you can do so by tapping this link, which will take you to the appropriate Play Store listing.

Improving User Experience

Google constantly works to add the little things that improve the user experience of its apps. The Google Contacts app is no exception. By adding a birthday reminder feature, Google ensures that its Contacts app remains a useful tool for its users. So, make sure to add all the significant dates of your contacts to avoid any embarrassment or trouble.