How to Add an Email Address to Your Gmail Contacts

Keep your contacts up to date in Gmail

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on November 29, 2022
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • Open a message, hover the cursor over the sender, and select Add to Contacts.
  • Select Edit Contact to add more information about them.
  • To edit the contact later on, search for the contact and select the pencil icon next to their name.

This article explains how to add an email address to your Gmail contacts and then edit the contact to add more information, such as their name. Instructions apply to Gmail on the desktop via a browser.

How to Add an Email Address to Your Gmail Contacts

Aside from making a new contact's info available on other devices, another reason to add a contact in Gmail is so they are recognized by Google and not sent to spam. Here's how to add an email address to your Gmail contacts.

  1. Open a message from the sender you want to save as a contact in Gmail.

  2. Hover your cursor over the sender's name at the top of the email.

  3. Select Add to Contacts on the pop-up pane.

    Add to Contacts button on Gmail web page

  4. To add more information about this contact, select Edit Contact. Enter the sender's name and any other information you have for the person. You don't have to fill out all the fields. You can always add information later.

    Edit Contact button on Gmail web page

  5. After adding all the information you want, Save the new contact.

    When you type a letter or two into the To field as you compose a new email, Gmail auto-fills the field based on contacts that match, so you don't have to look up addresses in your Contacts list manually. If you haven't saved the address, though, Gmail can't do this.

    Edit contact screen in Gmail contacts, highlighting Save button

Access the Contact in Gmail 

When you are ready to expand or edit the information you have for your contact:

  1. Open Google Contacts.

  2. Start typing the contact's name or email address in the search field. Gmail will suggest matching contacts. If Gmail does not suggest the correct contact, select the correct entry in the search results.

    Search field in Google Contacts, with the letters "P, E, T" typed into it

  3. The contact's details appear. Select the pencil icon to edit the contact.

    Edit pencil in Google Contacts interface

  4. Make the desired changes or additions. Select Show more at the bottom of the contact screen to see additional fields.

  5. Select Save.

About Google Contacts

When you enter a sender into Google Contacts, the information is synced across all your computers and mobile devices, so it's available wherever you go and whatever device you use.

After you have a group of entries, you can organize, review, and merge them. You can even create personal mailing lists to send messages to groups without having to enter all their email addresses. You can always add new addresses to Gmail groups. 

FAQ
  • How do I remove a contact from Gmail?

    To delete a contact from your Gmail contacts list, open Google Contacts and then find the entry you want to delete. Next, select the three dots icon above the list, then select Delete and confirm by selecting Delete again.

  • How do I create a group of contacts in Gmail?

    Open Gmail and select the Google Apps grid icon in the top-right corner, then select Contacts. Choose a contact to add and select the Manage labels (right-facing arrow) icon > set or create a group label > Apply. Repeat for all contacts you want to add to the group.

  • How do I export my contacts from Gmail?

    To export your Gmail contacts, open Google Contacts and select Export, then choose Contacts to export your entire address book or Selected contacts to export specific entries. Choose your preferred format, then select Export.

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