Best way to share Google Contacts with another Android user?

[whitenack]

Help me out with this issue...

My wife and I both have Google accounts, and Android phones. We love the Google Calendar feature that allows us to see each other's calendar. We would love to be able to do the same with our contacts.

For instance, whenever we have a mutual friend who changes addresses or phone numbers, we have to enter it twice, once in my contact list and once in her contact list. It would be nice if there was a way to share a contact list. I know I can do a one-time export/import, but that wouldn't be practical for each and every update to the list.

One thing I thought about was to add each other's google account to each other's phone and tell the phone to only sync the contacts. However, while that would mean the phones were up to date with all the information, it wouldn't update the desktop version of Google contacts, and it would also mean that I would have 2 versions of a contact, one that was updated and one that was not.

So, is there a way to contemperaneously share contacts between Google/Android Users?

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

The one thing that I can think of off the top of my head is to “share” a contact. If you go into your contacts list and long press on any contact and click “send namecard via” you can choose to Email that contact to another person. Maybe not the most logical solution, but it’s one option.

 

[whitenack]

The one thing that I can think of off the top of my head is to “share” a contact. If you go into your contacts list and long press on any contact and click “send namecard via” you can choose to Email that contact to another person. Maybe not the most logical solution, but it’s one option.

Thanks. Yeah, I thought about that, but that will require effort...haha. I'd like to get something that happens automatically. The more steps that are required the more likely it won't get done.

I guess one option would be to only have one list...merge both lists together and only host the list on my account. Delete her account (Edited to clarify...delete her contact list on her account), then have her phone sync with my account for only my contacts. She won't have access to her list from her google desktop, but she knows my google password so if she needed to edit something on the list she could go into my account and edit it there.

 

[cinnamontoast]

I have an idea for this. It will require effort for initial setup but after that, it's all automatic.

- Don't sync contacts using your main accounts (i.e. Delete your contacts on both your phones after you've disabled contact sync in your account settings on your phone).
- Create a new google account just for your new contacts and have both of you login into this new account and import your needed contacts.
- Have this account contact synced and now you can both update contacts in real time as needed without duplicates.

I recommend you don't delete the contacts on the desktop of your main accounts because you will use it still when you email people from gmail from the browser. Hope this works out for you.

 

[SaltheTech]

you could hide her contacts and add your google account to her phone but only sync your contacts uncheck emails and calendar. that way she can keep her list but also have yours and just delete the contacts in her account that you already have. please repost if you figure out an automatic way. i would also take advantage of that.

 

[Sailmaker]

I don't mean to sound snarky...but REALLY? How long does it take to update contact information?
If you receive notice of changed contact information, just forward the email to your wife.(and vica versa)

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

I don't mean to sound snarky...but REALLY? How long does it take to update contact information?
If you receive notice of changed contact information, just forward the email to your wife.(and vica versa)

For some people this can become a cumbersome task. It may not seem that way to you, but everyone is different and sometimes something as small as this can make the world of difference for someone.

 

[whitenack]

Yeah, come on dude. Technology is all about reducing the workload for the end-user. Why have a smartphone at all? You could keep a paper calendar and address book. You could also write regular letters instead of email.

I see that Google Apps users have this ability to share contact lists, but not regular Google users...

 

[Smitty_82]

Google Apps might be a good solution to look into. I've set up two different sites and the hardest part is setting up a domain name. Other than that, the email part is easy to do.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

Could using the app Bump help? One of you gets the updated info and "bumps" it to the other.

Of course, this entails both of you having the app open and being in close proximity... so it might be a bit cumbersome.

 

[milominderbinde]

If you just want to transfer one contact now and then, use Bump. You've seen it in the iPhone commercials. Bump another Android or iPhone to share photos or contacts.

It is really that easy and fast.

 

[whitenack]

Could using the app Bump help? One of you gets the updated info and "bumps" it to the other.

Of course, this entails both of you having the app open and being in close proximity... so it might be a bit cumbersome.

Yeah, that might limit things a bit. What we did was delete all the contacts from her phone (not the account) and disabled contact syncing on her account. Then I added my account to her phone and only enabled syncing. Now, the only thing I have to do is make sure she uses my account if she enters/edits a new contact from the desktop.

 

[dgenge]

I am in same boat with my wife. Google has to get its crap together and start refining it core services. Come on sharing a contact should be as easy as one click, especially with another GMail user.
I share the contact via android as an email with my wife.

 

[Gekko]

"Share Contact" seems like a good and reasonable solution to me. it's a great feature and i don't know what other kind of magic you are looking for and expect from Google.

 

[whitenack]

"Share Contact" seems like a good and reasonable solution to me. it's a great feature and i don't know what other kind of magic you are looking for and expect from Google.

We are looking for contemporaneous sharing. Like the Google Docs and Calendar programs work. I shouldn't have to "share" a contact with my spouse every time I update a mutual friend's email address or cell number.

 

[saltyflorida]

I needed to do the same thing and ended up using whitenack's solution. I wrote out the details here: Hack to share & sync Google contacts between android phones ? SaltyCrane Blog

 

[avrilwalsh165]

Thank you guys for your information.