What "favorite" means on iPhone and where to find it

On iPhone, a favorite is a contact, phone number, or location you mark for quick access. The Favorites feature appears in different apps depending on what you want to save: the Phone app holds favorite contacts and numbers, the Maps app stores favorite locations, and Safari lets you bookmark favorite websites. Each app manages its own favorites separately, so marking someone as a favorite in Phone does not automatically add them to your email contacts.

The Favorites tab sits at the bottom of the Phone app and shows as a heart icon in other apps. Once you add someone or something to Favorites, it appears at the top of that app's list, letting you reach it without scrolling through your full contact list or search history.

Key Takeaways

  • In the Phone app, open a contact or recent call, tap the heart icon, and it moves to your Favorites tab at the bottom.
  • In Maps, search for a location, scroll down, and tap "Add to Favorites" to save it for one-tap navigation.
  • In Safari, tap the share button, select "Add Bookmark", choose "Favorites" as the folder, and confirm.
  • Removing a favorite is the same action as adding it — tap the heart icon or "Add to Favorites" again to toggle it off.

Adding a favorite contact in the Phone app

Open the Phone app and go to the Contacts tab at the bottom. Find the person you want to mark as a favorite by scrolling or searching. Tap their name to open their contact card, then tap the heart icon in the top right corner. The heart fills in with red, and that contact now appears in your Favorites tab.

You can also add a favorite from a recent call. Go to the Recents tab, find the call you want to save, and tap the info icon (a circle with an "i") next to the person's name. Tap the heart icon on their contact card. This method is faster if you have just called someone and want to make them a favorite without searching your full contact list.

Adding a favorite location in Maps

Open the Maps app and search for a place by typing its name or address in the search bar. When the location appears on the map, tap the name or address at the bottom of the screen to open its details card. Scroll down and tap "Add to Favorites". The location now appears in your Favorites list, which you can reach by tapping the Favorites icon (a heart) at the bottom of the Maps app.

You can also add your home or work address as a favorite. Go to your contact card in the Contacts app, edit it, and add your home or work address. Then open Maps, search for your contact card, and add it to Favorites. This makes it easy to get directions to your own address without typing it each time.

Saving a favorite website in Safari

Open Safari and navigate to the website you want to save. Tap the share button (a square with an arrow pointing up) at the bottom of the screen. In the menu that appears, tap "Add Bookmark". A dialog box opens asking where to save the bookmark. Tap the folder dropdown and select "Favorites" instead of "Bookmarks". Tap "Save" to confirm.

Your favorite website now appears in the Favorites section of Safari, which shows as a grid of icons when you open a new tab. You can also access it by tapping the Bookmarks icon (an open book) and selecting the Favorites folder. To remove a website from Favorites later, tap the Bookmarks icon, find it in Favorites, swipe left on it, and tap "Delete".

Managing your Favorites list

In the Phone app, you can reorder your favorite contacts by going to the Favorites tab, tapping "Edit" in the top left, and dragging contacts up or down using the three horizontal lines next to each name. This lets you put the people you call most often at the top of the list. Tap "Done" when you finish reordering.

To remove a favorite from any app, use the same action that added it. In Phone, tap the contact and tap the heart icon again to unfill it. In Maps, open the location and tap "Add to Favorites" again to toggle it off. In Safari, tap the Bookmarks icon, find the website in Favorites, swipe left, and tap "Delete". The item stays in your contacts, history, or bookmarks — removing it from Favorites just takes it out of the quick-access list.

Syncing Favorites across your Apple devices

If you use iCloud, your Favorites sync automatically across all your Apple devices. Phone Favorites sync in the Phone app, Maps Favorites sync in Maps, and Safari Favorites sync in Safari. To check that syncing is turned on, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, and make sure the toggle next to Phone, Maps, or Safari is on (depending on which app you use).

If you turn off iCloud syncing for an app, your Favorites stay on that device but do not appear on your other devices. If you turn it back on later, your Favorites reappear. If you delete a favorite on one device and syncing is on, it deletes from all your devices within a few minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a phone number as a favorite without adding the whole contact?

Yes. In the Phone app, go to Recents, find the call from that number, tap the info icon, and tap the heart. This adds just that number to Favorites without creating or editing a contact. The number appears in your Favorites tab even if you have not saved it as a named contact.

What is the difference between Favorites and Contacts?

Contacts is your full address book of everyone you have saved. Favorites is a smaller list of people or places you use most often. Adding someone to Favorites does not change your Contacts — it just creates a shortcut to them in the Favorites tab.

Why do my Favorites not show up on my other iPhone?

Check that iCloud syncing is turned on for that app. Go to Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, and make sure the toggle for Phone, Maps, or Safari is on. If it is already on, wait a few minutes for the sync to complete, or sign out of iCloud and sign back in.

Can I add a group text or email thread as a favorite?

In the Phone app, you can only favorite individual contacts, not group calls. In Mail, you can flag important emails by swiping left on them and tapping the flag icon, but this is not the same as the Favorites feature. Messages does not have a built-in Favorites feature, though you can pin conversations to the top of your list by swiping left and tapping "Pin".