Adding a contact from an email you received
The fastest way to add a contact in Yahoo Mail is to save someone directly from an email they sent you. Open the message, then look for the sender's name or email address at the top. Click on it, and a small menu will appear with an option to add that person to your contacts. Yahoo will automatically fill in their email address and name.
This method works whether you're on a computer or using the Yahoo Mail app on your phone. The contact saves immediately, and you can edit it later to add more information like a phone number or physical address.
Key Takeaways
- You can add a contact by clicking the sender's name in any email and selecting the add option from the menu that appears.
- To create a contact from scratch, go to Contacts in the left sidebar, click the New Contact button, and fill in the name and email address.
- Contacts sync across all your devices when you use the same Yahoo account, so adding one on your phone updates it on your computer automatically.
- You can organize contacts into groups by creating a new group and adding people to it, which makes it easier to send emails to multiple people at once.
- If you have contacts in another email account or service, you can import them into Yahoo Mail using the import tool in the Contacts section.
Creating a new contact manually
If you want to add someone's contact information before you receive an email from them, you can create a contact from scratch. Click on Contacts in the left sidebar of Yahoo Mail. Then click the New Contact button, which is usually near the top of the page.
A form will open where you can enter the person's name and email address. The name and email are the only required fields. After you fill those in, click Save, and the contact is added to your list. You can go back and add more details later, like their phone number, birthday, or physical address.
Adding phone numbers and other details
When you first create a contact, Yahoo Mail only requires a name and email. But you can add much more information if you want to. Click on any contact in your list, then click Edit to open the full contact form.
In the edit form, you can add a phone number, home address, job title, company name, and notes about the person. You can also add multiple phone numbers or email addresses for the same person — for example, a work number and a personal number. After you make changes, click Save, and the updated contact is stored.
Organizing contacts into groups
If you have many contacts, organizing them into groups makes it easier to send emails to multiple people at once. In the Contacts section, look for an option to create a new group. Click it and give the group a name — for example, "Work Team" or "Family".
Once you create a group, you can add contacts to it by opening the group and clicking an add button, or by editing individual contacts and assigning them to the group. When you want to email everyone in a group, you can type the group name in the To field, and Yahoo Mail will automatically include all members.
Importing contacts from another email account
If you have contacts stored in Gmail, Outlook, or another email service, you can bring them into Yahoo Mail instead of typing them in manually. In the Contacts section, look for an Import option. Click it and select the file format your contacts are in — usually a CSV file or vCard file.
Your other email service can export your contacts as a file. Once you have that file on your computer, use Yahoo's import tool to upload it. Yahoo will read the file and add all those contacts to your list. This process usually takes a few minutes, depending on how many contacts you have.
Fixing duplicate contacts
If you import contacts or add the same person multiple times, you may end up with duplicates in your list. Yahoo Mail has a tool to find and merge duplicates. In the Contacts section, look for a Merge Duplicates or similar option.
Click it, and Yahoo will scan your contacts and show you any that look like they might be the same person. You can review each match and decide whether to merge them. When you merge two contacts, Yahoo combines all the information — both email addresses, both phone numbers, and so on — into a single contact entry.
Syncing contacts across devices
When you add or change a contact in Yahoo Mail on your computer, that change appears on your phone or tablet automatically, as long as you are signed into the same Yahoo account. This sync happens in the background and usually takes a few minutes.
If you add a contact on your phone using the Yahoo Mail app, it will show up on your computer the next time you open Yahoo Mail there. You do not have to do anything to make this happen — it is built into Yahoo Mail. If a contact is not showing up on one of your devices, try signing out and signing back in to force a refresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add a contact without an email address?
Yahoo Mail requires at least a name and email address to create a contact. If you only have someone's phone number or physical address, you can still create the contact with their name and a placeholder email, then edit it later to add the real email when you get it.
What happens if I delete a contact by mistake?
Deleted contacts go to a Trash or Recently Deleted folder in your Contacts section. You can usually restore them from there within a certain time period. Open the Trash folder, find the contact, and click Restore or a similar option to bring it back to your main contact list.
Can I share a contact group with someone else?
Yahoo Mail does not have a built-in feature to share contact groups with other people. However, you can export a group as a file and send that file to someone else, and they can import it into their own Yahoo Mail account.
How do I add a contact from a forwarded email?
Forwarded emails work the same way as regular emails. Click on the original sender's name at the top of the message, and you will see the option to add them to your contacts. Yahoo will save their email address from the forwarded message.
Can I add a contact to multiple groups?
Yes. When you edit a contact, you can assign it to more than one group. This is useful if someone belongs in multiple categories — for example, a coworker who is also a friend could be in both a Work group and a Friends group.