@herdwatch/cordova-plugin-contacts

---

title: Contacts description: Manage the contacts on the device.

AppVeyor	Travis CI

cordova-plugin-contacts

This plugin defines a global navigator.contacts object, which provides access to the device contacts database.

Although the object is attached to the global scoped navigator, it is not available until after the deviceready event.

document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
function onDeviceReady() {
console.log(navigator.contacts);
}

---

⚠️ WARNING: Collection and use of contact data raises important privacy issues. Your app's privacy policy should discuss how the app uses contact data and whether it is shared with any other parties.
Contact information is considered sensitive because it reveals the people with whom a person communicates. Therefore, in addition to the app's privacy policy, you should strongly consider providing a just-in-time notice before the app accesses or uses contact data, if the device operating system doesn't do so already. That notice should provide the same information noted above, as well as obtaining the user's permission (e.g., by presenting choices for OK and No Thanks).
Note that some app marketplaces may require the app to provide a just-in-time notice and obtain the user's permission before accessing contact data. A clear and easy-to-understand user experience surrounding the use of contact data helps avoid user confusion and perceived misuse of contact data.
For more information, please see the Privacy Guide.

---

Deprecation Notice

This plugin is being deprecated. No more work will be done on this plugin by the Cordova development community. You can continue to use this plugin and it should work as-is in the future but any more arising issues will not be fixed by the Cordova community.

---

Installation

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-contacts

Older versions of cordova can still install via the deprecated id (stale v0.2.16)

cordova plugin add org.apache.cordova.contacts

It is also possible to install via repo url directly (unstable)

cordova plugin add https://github.com/apache/cordova-plugin-contacts.git

iOS Quirks

Since iOS 10 it's mandatory to provide an usage description in the info.plist if trying to access privacy-sensitive data. When the system prompts the user to allow access, this usage description string will displayed as part of the permission dialog box, but if you didn't provide the usage description, the app will crash before showing the dialog. Also, Apple will reject apps that access private data but don't provide an usage description.

This plugins requires the following usage description:

• NSContactsUsageDescription describes the reason that the app accesses the user's contacts.

To add this entry into the info.plist, you can use the edit-config tag in the config.xml like this:

<edit-config target="NSContactsUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need contacts access to search friends</string>
</edit-config>

Windows Quirks

Prior to Windows 10: Any contacts returned from find and pickContact methods are readonly, so your application cannot modify them. find method available only on Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

Windows 10 and above: Contacts may be saved and will be saved to app-local contacts storage. Contacts may also be deleted.

deprecated platforms

Firefox OS Quirks

Create www/manifest.webapp as described in Manifest Docs. Add relevant permisions. There is also a need to change the webapp type to "privileged" - Manifest Docs. WARNING: All privileged apps enforce Content Security Policy which forbids inline script. Initialize your application in another way.

"type": "privileged",
"permissions": {
	"contacts": {
		"access": "readwrite",
		"description": "Describe why there is a need for such permission"
	}
}

Windows 8 Quirks

Windows 8 Contacts are readonly. Via the Cordova API Contacts are not queryable/searchable, you should inform the user to pick a contact as a call to contacts.pickContact which will open the 'People' app where the user must choose a contact. Any contacts returned are readonly, so your application cannot modify them.

navigator.contacts

Methods

• navigator.contacts.create
• navigator.contacts.find
• navigator.contacts.pickContact

Objects

• Contact
• ContactName
• ContactField
• ContactAddress
• ContactOrganization
• ContactFindOptions
• ContactError
• ContactFieldType

navigator.contacts.create

The navigator.contacts.create method is synchronous, and returns a new Contact object.

This method does not retain the Contact object in the device contacts database, for which you need to invoke the Contact.save method.

Supported Platforms

• Android
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• iOS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

    var myContact = navigator.contacts.create({"displayName": "Test User"});

navigator.contacts.find

The navigator.contacts.find method executes asynchronously, querying the device contacts database and returning an array of Contact objects. The resulting objects are passed to the contactSuccess callback function specified by the contactSuccess parameter.

The contactFields parameter should always be an array and specifies the fields to be used as a search qualifier. A zero-length contactFields parameter is invalid and results in ContactError.INVALID_ARGUMENT_ERROR. A contactFields value of ["*"] searches all contact fields.

The contactFindOptions.filter string can be used as a search filter when querying the contacts database. If provided, a case-insensitive, partial value match is applied to each field specified in the contactFields parameter. If there's a match for any of the specified fields, the contact is returned. Use contactFindOptions.desiredFields parameter to control which contact properties must be returned back.

Supported values for both contactFields and contactFindOptions.desiredFields parameters are enumerated in ContactFieldType object.

Parameters

• contactFields: Contact fields to use as a search qualifier. (DOMString[]) [Required]

• contactSuccess: Success callback function invoked with the array of Contact objects returned from the database. [Required]

• contactError: Error callback function, invoked when an error occurs. [Optional]

• contactFindOptions: Search options to filter navigator.contacts. [Optional]

  Keys include:

  • filter: The search string used to find navigator.contacts. (DOMString) (Default: "")

  • multiple: Determines if the find operation returns multiple navigator.contacts. (Boolean) (Default: false)

  • desiredFields: Contact fields to be returned back. If specified, the resulting Contact object only features values for these fields. (DOMString[]) [Optional]

  • hasPhoneNumber(Android only): Filters the search to only return contacts with a phone number informed. (Boolean) (Default: false)

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows (Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10)
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
	alert('Found ' + contacts.length + ' contacts.');
};

function onError(contactError) {
	alert('onError!');
};

// find all contacts with 'Bob' in any name field
var options      = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter   = "Bob";
options.multiple = true;
options.desiredFields = [navigator.contacts.fieldType.id];
options.hasPhoneNumber = true;
var fields       = [navigator.contacts.fieldType.displayName, navigator.contacts.fieldType.name];
navigator.contacts.find(fields, onSuccess, onError, options);

Windows Quirks

• contactFields is not supported and will be ignored. find method will always attempt to match the name, email address, or phone number of a contact.

navigator.contacts.pickContact

The navigator.contacts.pickContact method launches the Contact Picker to select a single contact. The resulting object is passed to the contactSuccess callback function specified by the contactSuccess parameter.

Parameters

• contactSuccess: Success callback function invoked with the single Contact object. [Required]

• contactError: Error callback function, invoked when an error occurs. [Optional]

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• Windows Phone 8

Example

navigator.contacts.pickContact(function(contact){
        console.log('The following contact has been selected:' + JSON.stringify(contact));
    },function(err){
        console.log('Error: ' + err);
    });

Android Quirks

This plugin launches an external Activity for picking contacts. See the Android Lifecycle Guide for an explanation of how this affects your application. If the plugin returns its result in the resume event, then you must first wrap the returned object in a Contact object before using it. Here is an example:

function onResume(resumeEvent) {
    if(resumeEvent.pendingResult) {
        if(resumeEvent.pendingResult.pluginStatus === "OK") {
            var contact = navigator.contacts.create(resumeEvent.pendingResult.result);
            successCallback(contact);
        } else {
            failCallback(resumeEvent.pendingResult.result);
        }
    }
}

Contact

The Contact object represents a user's contact. Contacts can be created, stored, or removed from the device contacts database. Contacts can also be retrieved (individually or in bulk) from the database by invoking the navigator.contacts.find method.

NOTE: Not all of the contact fields listed above are supported on every device platform. Please check each platform's Quirks section for details.

Properties

• id: A globally unique identifier. (DOMString)

• displayName: The name of this Contact, suitable for display to end users. (DOMString)

• name: An object containing all components of a persons name. (ContactName)

• nickname: A casual name by which to address the contact. (DOMString)

• phoneNumbers: An array of all the contact's phone numbers. (ContactField[])

• emails: An array of all the contact's email addresses. (ContactField[])

• addresses: An array of all the contact's addresses. (ContactAddress[])

• ims: An array of all the contact's IM addresses. (ContactField[])

• organizations: An array of all the contact's organizations. (ContactOrganization[])

• birthday: The birthday of the contact. (Date)

• note: A note about the contact. (DOMString)

• photos: An array of the contact's photos. (ContactField[])

• categories: An array of all the user-defined categories associated with the contact. (ContactField[])

• urls: An array of web pages associated with the contact. (ContactField[])

Methods

• clone: Returns a new Contact object that is a deep copy of the calling object, with the id property set to null.

• remove: Removes the contact from the device contacts database, otherwise executes an error callback with a ContactError object.

• save: Saves a new contact to the device contacts database, or updates an existing contact if a contact with the same id already exists.

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Amazon Fire OS
• Windows Phone 8

Save Example

function onSuccess(contact) {
    alert("Save Success");
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert("Error = " + contactError.code);
};

// create a new contact object
var contact = navigator.contacts.create();
contact.displayName = "Plumber";
contact.nickname = "Plumber";            // specify both to support all devices

// populate some fields
var name = new ContactName();
name.givenName = "Jane";
name.familyName = "Doe";
contact.name = name;

// save to device
contact.save(onSuccess,onError);

Clone Example

// clone the contact object
var clone = contact.clone();
clone.name.givenName = "John";
console.log("Original contact name = " + contact.name.givenName);
console.log("Cloned contact name = " + clone.name.givenName);

Remove Example

function onSuccess() {
    alert("Removal Success");
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert("Error = " + contactError.code);
};

// remove the contact from the device
contact.remove(onSuccess,onError);

Removing phone number(s) from a saved contact

// Example to create a contact with 3 phone numbers and then remove
// 2 phone numbers. This example is for illustrative purpose only
var myContact = navigator.contacts.create({"displayName": "Test User"});
var phoneNumbers = [];

phoneNumbers[0] = new ContactField('work', '768-555-1234', false);
phoneNumbers[1] = new ContactField('mobile', '999-555-5432', true); // preferred number
phoneNumbers[2] = new ContactField('home', '203-555-7890', false);

myContact.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;
myContact.save(function (contact_obj) {
    var contactObjToModify = contact_obj.clone();
    contact_obj.remove(function(){
        var phoneNumbers = [contactObjToModify.phoneNumbers[0]];
        contactObjToModify.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;
        contactObjToModify.save(function(c_obj){
            console.log("All Done");
        }, function(error){
            console.log("Not able to save the cloned object: " + error);
        });
    }, function(contactError) {
        console.log("Contact Remove Operation failed: " + contactError);
    });
});

iOS Quirks

• displayName: Not supported on iOS, returning null unless there is no ContactName specified, in which case it returns the composite name, nickname or "", respectively.

• birthday: Must be input as a JavaScript Date object, the same way it is returned.

• photos: Returns a File URL to the image, which is stored in the application's temporary directory. Contents of the temporary directory are removed when the application exits.

• categories: This property is currently not supported, returning null.

Android 2.X Quirks

• categories: Not supported on Android 2.X devices, returning null.

Windows Quirks

• photos: Returns a File URL to the image, which is stored in the application's temporary directory.

• birthdays: Not supported, returning null.

• categories: Not supported, returning null.

• remove: Method is only supported in Windows 10 or above.

deprecated platforms

BlackBerry 10 Quirks

• id: Assigned by the device when saving the contact.

FirefoxOS Quirks

• categories: Partially supported. Fields pref and type are returning null

• ims: Not supported

• photos: Not supported

Windows Phone 8 Quirks

• displayName: When creating a contact, the value provided for the display name parameter differs from the display name retrieved when finding the contact.

• urls: When creating a contact, users can input and save more than one web address, but only one is available when searching the contact.

• phoneNumbers: The pref option is not supported. The type is not supported in a find operation. Only one phoneNumber is allowed for each type.

• emails: The pref option is not supported. Home and personal references same email entry. Only one entry is allowed for each type.

• addresses: Supports only work, and home/personal type. The home and personal type reference the same address entry. Only one entry is allowed for each type.

• organizations: Only one is allowed, and does not support the pref, type, and department attributes.

• note: Not supported, returning null.

• ims: Not supported, returning null.

• birthdays: Not supported, returning null.

• categories: Not supported, returning null.

• remove: Method is not supported

ContactAddress

The ContactAddress object stores the properties of a single address of a contact. A Contact object may include more than one address in a ContactAddress[] array.

Properties

• pref: Set to true if this ContactAddress contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)

• type: A string indicating what type of field this is, home for example. (DOMString)

• formatted: The full address formatted for display. (DOMString)

• streetAddress: The full street address. (DOMString)

• locality: The city or locality. (DOMString)

• region: The state or region. (DOMString)

• postalCode: The zip code or postal code. (DOMString)

• country: The country name. (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• Amazon Fire OS
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

// display the address information for all contacts

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        for (var j = 0; j < contacts[i].addresses.length; j++) {
            alert("Pref: "         + contacts[i].addresses[j].pref          + "\n" +
                "Type: "           + contacts[i].addresses[j].type          + "\n" +
                "Formatted: "      + contacts[i].addresses[j].formatted     + "\n" +
                "Street Address: " + contacts[i].addresses[j].streetAddress + "\n" +
                "Locality: "       + contacts[i].addresses[j].locality      + "\n" +
                "Region: "         + contacts[i].addresses[j].region        + "\n" +
                "Postal Code: "    + contacts[i].addresses[j].postalCode    + "\n" +
                "Country: "        + contacts[i].addresses[j].country);
        }
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

// find all contacts
var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
var filter = ["displayName", "addresses"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

iOS Quirks

• pref: Not supported on iOS devices, returning false.

• formatted: Currently not supported.

Windows Quirks

• pref: Not supported

Android 2.X Quirks

• pref: Not supported, returning false on Android 2.X devices.

deprecated platforms

BlackBerry 10 Quirks

• pref: Not supported on BlackBerry devices, returning false.

• type: Partially supported. Only one each of Work and Home type addresses can be stored per contact.

• formatted: Partially supported. Returns a concatenation of all BlackBerry address fields.

• streetAddress: Supported. Returns a concatenation of BlackBerry address1 and address2 address fields.

• locality: Supported. Stored in BlackBerry city address field.

• region: Supported. Stored in BlackBerry stateProvince address field.

• postalCode: Supported. Stored in BlackBerry zipPostal address field.

• country: Supported.

FirefoxOS Quirks

• formatted: Currently not supported

ContactError

The ContactError object is returned to the user through the contactError callback function when an error occurs.

Properties

• code: One of the predefined error codes listed below.

Constants

• ContactError.UNKNOWN_ERROR (code 0)
• ContactError.INVALID_ARGUMENT_ERROR (code 1)
• ContactError.TIMEOUT_ERROR (code 2)
• ContactError.PENDING_OPERATION_ERROR (code 3)
• ContactError.IO_ERROR (code 4)
• ContactError.NOT_SUPPORTED_ERROR (code 5)
• ContactError.OPERATION_CANCELLED_ERROR (code 6)
• ContactError.PERMISSION_DENIED_ERROR (code 20)

ContactField

The ContactField object is a reusable component that represents contact fields generically. Each ContactField object contains a value, type, and pref property. A Contact object stores several properties in ContactField[] arrays, such as phone numbers and email addresses.

In most instances, there are no pre-determined values for a ContactField object's type attribute. For example, a phone number can specify type values of home, work, mobile, iPhone, or any other value that is supported by a particular device platform's contact database. However, for the Contact photos field, the type field indicates the format of the returned image: url when the value attribute contains a URL to the photo image, or base64 when the value contains a base64-encoded image string.

Properties

• type: A string that indicates what type of field this is, home for example. (DOMString)

• value: The value of the field, such as a phone number or email address. (DOMString)

• pref: Set to true if this ContactField contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Amazon Fire OS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

// create a new contact
var contact = navigator.contacts.create();

// store contact phone numbers in ContactField[]
var phoneNumbers = [];
phoneNumbers[0] = new ContactField('work', '212-555-1234', false);
phoneNumbers[1] = new ContactField('mobile', '917-555-5432', true); // preferred number
phoneNumbers[2] = new ContactField('home', '203-555-7890', false);
contact.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;

// save the contact
contact.save();

iOS Quirks

• pref: Not supported, returning false.

Windows Quirks

• pref: Not supported, returning false.

Android Quirks

• pref: Not supported, returning false.

deprecated platforms

BlackBerry 10 Quirks

• type: Partially supported. Used for phone numbers.

• value: Supported.

• pref: Not supported, returning false.

ContactName

Contains different kinds of information about a Contact object's name.

Properties

• formatted: The complete name of the contact. (DOMString)

• familyName: The contact's family name. (DOMString)

• givenName: The contact's given name. (DOMString)

• middleName: The contact's middle name. (DOMString)

• honorificPrefix: The contact's prefix (example Mr. or Dr.) (DOMString)

• honorificSuffix: The contact's suffix (example Esq.). (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Amazon Fire OS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        alert("Formatted: "  + contacts[i].name.formatted       + "\n" +
            "Family Name: "  + contacts[i].name.familyName      + "\n" +
            "Given Name: "   + contacts[i].name.givenName       + "\n" +
            "Middle Name: "  + contacts[i].name.middleName      + "\n" +
            "Suffix: "       + contacts[i].name.honorificSuffix + "\n" +
            "Prefix: "       + contacts[i].name.honorificSuffix);
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
filter = ["displayName", "name"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

Android Quirks

• formatted: Partially supported, and read-only. Returns a concatenation of honorificPrefix, givenName, middleName, familyName, and honorificSuffix.

iOS Quirks

• formatted: Partially supported. Returns iOS Composite Name, but is read-only.

Windows Quirks

• formatted: This is the only name property, and is identical to displayName, and nickname

• familyName: not supported

• givenName: not supported

• middleName: not supported

• honorificPrefix: not supported

• honorificSuffix: not supported

deprecated platforms

BlackBerry 10 Quirks

• formatted: Partially supported. Returns a concatenation of BlackBerry firstName and lastName fields.

• familyName: Supported. Stored in BlackBerry lastName field.

• givenName: Supported. Stored in BlackBerry firstName field.

• middleName: Not supported, returning null.

• honorificPrefix: Not supported, returning null.

• honorificSuffix: Not supported, returning null.

FirefoxOS Quirks

• formatted: Partially supported, and read-only. Returns a concatenation of honorificPrefix, givenName, middleName, familyName, and honorificSuffix.

ContactOrganization

The ContactOrganization object stores a contact's organization properties. A Contact object stores one or more ContactOrganization objects in an array.

Properties

• pref: Set to true if this ContactOrganization contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)

• type: A string that indicates what type of field this is, home for example. _(DOMString)

• name: The name of the organization. (DOMString)

• department: The department the contract works for. (DOMString)

• title: The contact's title at the organization. (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows (Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices only)
• BlackBerry 10
• Firefox OS
• Windows Phone 8

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        for (var j = 0; j < contacts[i].organizations.length; j++) {
            alert("Pref: "      + contacts[i].organizations[j].pref       + "\n" +
                "Type: "        + contacts[i].organizations[j].type       + "\n" +
                "Name: "        + contacts[i].organizations[j].name       + "\n" +
                "Department: "  + contacts[i].organizations[j].department + "\n" +
                "Title: "       + contacts[i].organizations[j].title);
        }
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
filter = ["displayName", "organizations"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

iOS Quirks

• pref: Not supported on iOS devices, returning false.

• type: Not supported on iOS devices, returning null.

• name: Partially supported. The first organization name is stored in the iOS kABPersonOrganizationProperty field.

• department: Partially supported. The first department name is stored in the iOS kABPersonDepartmentProperty field.

• title: Partially supported. The first title is stored in the iOS kABPersonJobTitleProperty field.

Windows Quirks

• pref: Not supported, returning false.

• type: Not supported, returning null.

Android 2.X Quirks

• pref: Not supported by Android 2.X devices, returning false.

deprecated platforms

BlackBerry 10 Quirks

• pref: Not supported by BlackBerry devices, returning false.

• type: Not supported by BlackBerry devices, returning null.

• name: Partially supported. The first organization name is stored in the BlackBerry company field.

• department: Not supported, returning null.

• title: Partially supported. The first organization title is stored in the BlackBerry jobTitle field.

Firefox OS Quirks

• pref: Not supported

• type: Not supported

• department: Not supported

• Fields name and title stored in org and jobTitle.

ContactFieldType

The ContactFieldType object is an enumeration of possible field types, such as 'phoneNumbers' or 'emails', that could be used to control which contact properties must be returned back from contacts.find() method (see contactFindOptions.desiredFields), or to specify fields to search in (through contactFields parameter). Possible values are:

• navigator.contacts.fieldType.addresses
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.birthday
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.categories
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.country
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.department
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.displayName
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.emails
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.familyName
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.formatted
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.givenName
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.honorificPrefix
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.honorificSuffix
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.id
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.ims
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.locality
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.middleName
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.name
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.nickname
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.note
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.organizations
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.phoneNumbers
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.photos
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.postalCode
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.region
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.streetAddress
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.title
• navigator.contacts.fieldType.urls