Syncing contacts only between my iPhone and Mac without including my iPad

Question

Level 1

4 points

Syncing contacts only between my iPhone and Mac without including my iPad

Hello everyone,

I am new to device synchronization via iCloud and therefore unsure, as I have concerns about irreversible data loss.

My question concerns the synchronization of the Contacts app. Is it possible to synchronize it exclusively between certain devices, such as Mac and iPhone, without including the iPad, for example? I am concerned that activating contact synchronization on the iPhone will automatically activate synchronization on the iPad, thereby mixing the contact lists of both devices. I would like to avoid this and only use synchronization between the iPhone and Mac because they should have the same contacts.

I hope you can assist me and thank you in advance for your efforts.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Question about synchronising the contacts app

Posted on Aug 10, 2025 02:42 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 10, 2025 09:10 AM in response to Niki_27

If you're wanting to keep some things private, keep in mind that the iPad user can change the settings. You can control some settings and keep them passcode secured with Screen Time, but I'm unsure if that includes Contacts--I don't see either Contacts nor iCloud listed. You can check this.

Use Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Niki_27 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 11, 2025 04:50 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thank you for your reply. It seems there has been a misunderstanding: I own all three devices and they are used exclusively by me. My concern is not to hide data, but rather to prevent the contacts on my iPad from being synchronized with those on my iPhone and thus mixed up.

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Answer 3

Niki_27 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 11, 2025 04:52 AM in response to mulberry58

Thank you for your reply. So if I understand you right: Its possible to synchronise certain apps like contacts only on particular devices? Like iPhone and Mac only but not the iPad? I am only so concerned because I do not want to lost or mix up any data because I cannot reverse it easily.

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Answer 4

mulberry58

Level 6

10,382 points

Aug 10, 2025 05:30 AM in response to Niki_27

On each device, go to Settings, Your Name, iCloud and choose which items you want to synchronize. You can e.g. exclude Contacts

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