The fastest way to favorite a contact
Open the Contacts app, find the person you want to favorite, and tap the star icon at the top of their contact card. The star fills in solid, and that contact now appears in your Favorites list at the top of the Contacts app. You can also add someone to Favorites from your recent calls list or messages thread — tap the info icon next to their name, then tap the star.
Once a contact is in Favorites, you can reach them faster. They appear first when you open Contacts, and if you use Siri, you can say "Call [Name]" without specifying which contact you mean if multiple people share that name.
Key Takeaways
- The star icon on a contact's card is the only control you need — tap it once to add to Favorites, tap it again to remove.
- Favorited contacts appear in a separate Favorites section at the very top of your Contacts list, sorted alphabetically.
- You can add someone to Favorites from Contacts, from a recent call, or from a text message thread.
- Removing a contact from Favorites does not delete the contact itself, only removes it from the Favorites section.
Adding a favorite from the Contacts app
Launch the Contacts app on your home screen. Scroll or search to find the person you want to add. Tap their name to open their full contact card.
At the top of the card, you will see a star icon — it appears hollow or unfilled if the contact is not yet a favorite. Tap the star once. It fills in solid and turns red (or your accent color), and the contact moves to your Favorites section. The contact card stays open so you can make a call or send a message if you want to.
Adding a favorite from recent calls
Open the Phone app and tap the Recents tab at the bottom. Find the person you want to favorite in the list of recent calls or FaceTime sessions.
Tap the info icon — a small circle with an "i" — next to their name. This opens their contact details. Tap the star at the top of the screen to add them to Favorites. If the person is not yet in your contacts, you will see an option to create a new contact first; tap that, fill in their name and number, then tap the star.
Adding a favorite from a text message
Open the Messages app and find the conversation with the person you want to favorite. Tap their name or number at the very top of the message thread — this opens a small card with their contact information.
Tap the info icon (the circle with an "i") to open their full contact details. Tap the star at the top to add them to Favorites. If you have not yet saved this person as a contact, you will see an option to create a new contact; tap it, enter their name, and then tap the star.
Where your favorites appear
When you open the Contacts app, your Favorites section sits at the very top, above all other contacts. The list is sorted alphabetically by first name. You can scroll through Favorites just like any other contact list, and tapping a name opens their full card so you can call, message, or view their details.
Favorites also appear in Siri's recognition. If you say "Call Sarah," Siri will call the Sarah in your Favorites list if only one exists there. If multiple Sarahs are in Favorites, Siri will ask you to pick which one.
Removing someone from favorites
Open the Contacts app and find the person in your Favorites section at the top. Tap their name to open their card. Tap the star icon at the top — it will change from solid and red back to hollow and gray. The contact is removed from Favorites but remains in your full contact list.
You can also remove a favorite by swiping left on their name in the Favorites section and tapping the trash icon, though this deletes the entire contact rather than just removing it from Favorites. If you only want to remove them from Favorites, use the star icon method instead.
Organizing favorites with groups
iPhone does not let you sort Favorites into subgroups or folders the way you can with regular contacts. All favorites appear in a single alphabetical list at the top of Contacts. If you want to organize people by category — family, work, close friends — you can use contact groups on a Mac or iCloud.com, and those groups will sync to your iPhone, but the Favorites section itself remains a single list.
As an alternative, you can create a contact group in the Contacts app on your Mac, add people to it, and that group will appear in your iPhone's Contacts app. You can then tap the group to see all members at once, though this is different from the Favorites feature and requires a Mac to set up initially.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I favorite a contact that is not saved to my phone yet?
No. You must save someone as a contact first before you can add them to Favorites. If you find their number in a recent call or message, you can create a new contact from that interaction and immediately add them to Favorites in the same step.
Does favoriting someone let them know?
No. Adding someone to your Favorites list is private and does not send them any notification or message. They have no way to know you have favorited them unless you tell them.
How many contacts can I add to Favorites?
There is no limit to the number of contacts you can add to Favorites. You can favorite as many people as you want, and they will all appear in the Favorites section at the top of your Contacts app.
Will my favorites sync across my devices?
Yes, if you use iCloud to sync your contacts. Favorites are stored as part of your contact data and will appear on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac signed into the same iCloud account. If you do not use iCloud sync, Favorites will only appear on the device where you created them.
What is the difference between Favorites and contact groups?
Favorites is a simple star-marking system that puts your most-used contacts at the top of the Contacts app. Groups are categories you create to organize contacts by type — like "Work" or "Family" — and let you see all members of a group at once. You can use both at the same time.