What free bulk contact deletion method or tool do you prefer so as to delete contacts on each Android sqlite account database?

[Arlen Holder]

What's a good way to bulk delete all contacts on an Android phone?

While most people might want this capability when they're ditching the
phone, I am asking because contacts aren't as simple as I, at first,
thought they were.

Each "account" has its own contacts sqlite db, where most people have a
"google account" set on the phone (but I don't have a Google Account on the
phone) and yet, other programs (such as TextNow, LocalSync, MyContacts,
etc.) also create an Android contacts sqlite db (apparently).

Up until today, I didn't even _have_ a contacts sqlite db.

I simply load contacts via a contacts.vcf file into a the SimpleMobileTools
"Contacts" app that, for privacy reasons, maintains its own contacts db
separate from the Android sqlite contacts db.

That works fine, but to test out contact optimizers, most of which deal
with the Android sqlite contacts db, I had to load a contacts.vcf file into
the Android contacts sqlite db.

Now it's time to delete them.
o How?

Googling, the Google Contacts app can only do it manually:
o *Contacts*, by Google LLC
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.contacts>

As described in this article on how to bulk delete contacts:
o *Bulk Delete Android Contacts*
<https://www.guidingtech.com/59842/bulk-delete-contacts-ios-android/>
Besides, according to that article, the Google Contacts app doesn't have a
bulk delete option.

They suggest this app for a bulk delete:
o *Contact Deleter*, by gabenative
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gn.android.contactdeleter>
o free
o has ads
o GSF dependent

Although searching found plenty of other bulk contact deletion tools.
o <https://play.google.com/store/search?q=contacts%20bulk%20delete&c=apps>
none found (yet) were what I generally seek in an Android app:
o free
o ad free
o GSF independent

Yet, plenty were (at least) free, such as...

o *Delete All Contacts*, by Infidea.xyz
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.deleteallcontacts>

o *Delete All Contacts*, by Little Play Studio
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lps.allcontactsremover>

o *Delete Multiple Contacts*, by Little Play Studio
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lps.contactremover>

o *Delete Multiple Contacts*, by Appsolutely Studio
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thomasalva.multiplecontacts>

o *Easy Contacts Delete*, by Diego Previtali
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.previtali.ecd>

o *Delete Contacts*, by takaaki024
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=takaaki024.deletecontacts>

o *Contacts Cleaner|Delete|Remove*, by Mobile tools
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ekhandesh.contacts.delete>

I'll test these out, but before I do, I wanted to ask first...

What free bulk contact deletion method or tool do you prefer so as to
delete contacts on each Android sqlite account database?
--
Each thread to Usenet should strive to add value to our tribal knowledge.

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote :

> What's a good way to bulk delete all contacts on an Android phone?

It turns out that Android contacts sqlite databases and accounts are super
confusing, where each app that purports to "manage" contacts often sees
only "some" of the contact databases stored on the Android phone.

For example, on Android 9, this is my set of 6 contacts databases:
Settings > Accounts > Accounts for Owner >
(_)2ndLine [2ndLine]
(_)Local Sync [Local Sync]
(_)com.opera.browser [Opera]
(_)My Contacts [Phone]
(_)gibberish [Talkatone]
(_)TextNow [TextNow]
Notice "Device" is missing, aka the SIM card.

Notice the official Google Contacts says there are 3321 contacts in other
accounts, of which it can find 3 other accounts:
o 2226 contacts in Local Sync
o 1095 contacts in Phone
o 0 contacts in Device

Notice my "real" contacts are kept only inside SimpleMobileTools
(which lists 611 contacts when I press the "select all" button):

Yet the three duplicate-contacts apps sees only _two_ of those,
the Local Sync with 2220 contacts & My Contacts with 1092 for
a total of 3312 contacts:

The cz.psencik contacts app also sees only 2 of those:

OpenContacts sees 1185 contacts from un-named database(s):

Orgware Contacts sees all 6 accounts:

Contact Deleter sees one combined database of 3602 contacts:

Contact Eraser sees one combined database of 579 contacts:

123 gr.alterora.apps sees one combined database of 579 contacts:

NOTE: I was snapping screenshots, but it gets time consuming,
so I cut my losses and deleted the snapshots since the point is that only
"some" (rarely any) apps actually "see" all the contact databases.

In summary, it's super confusing how to "really" delete your contacts since
each app shows _different_ databases and different numbers of contacts.

Nonetheless, almost all the apps have a "delete" button.
The trick is finding the one "good" app that does two things:
a. It "sees" all the contact databases as separate entities, and,
b. It allows you to delete those entities separately.
--
Some tests are just confusing when the underlying db is complex.

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote :

> Nonetheless, almost all the apps have a "delete" button.
> The trick is finding the one "good" app that does two things:
> a. It "sees" all the contact databases as separate entities, and,
> b. It allows you to delete those entities separately.

After a bit of testing, I found most apps would select any account they
could 'see', and then allow you to delete contacts from that account.

However, I think the easiest way to delete all the contacts in any one of
my six accounts, is to merely delete the account from the Android settings.

What's confusing a bit is there are 3 different things going on:
a. Some apps (like SimpleMobileTools Contacts) definitely have their own
private contact database which is _not_ found by _any_ app whatsoever
(which is why I use it, because that provides privacy).

b. Other apps (like 2ndLine, Opera, TextNow, Talkatone, etc.), seem to
create their own account database (which is why I had six of them), where
only _some_ other apps will even _see_ them (but most won't).

c. Still other apps, like GoogleContacts or TrueDialer or ContactsImport
will create their own account database, where all other related apps tend
to see the contact databases they create.

I think this last set is the "real" Android contacts sqlite database.