Default Contacts app duplicates contact entries

rhimbo

GrapheneOS
Android version 15
Build number 2025020500

I have consistently seen the default Contacts app create duplicate entries. I'm not sure how or when this happens. For those contacts that have duplicates, I can see the duplicates if I search for data in the contact (name, phone number, etc.) or if I just scroll through all the contacts.

If duplicates are linked, deleting one deletes them all. If unlinked, I can delete them individually.

I've seen a few posts on this, but none seem to have information on how to identify the source of the problem.

This post mentions a Contacts Storage app. Is that something I need to download separately and configure to work with the GrapheneOS default Contacts app?
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8708-can-duplicate-contacts-be-removed

I could not find a "Contacts Storage" app in either Droid-ify, F-Droid, or Neo Store.

I did see a few posts mentioning Fossify apps. That seems to have favorable reviews (in this forum too), but I'd like to know if I'm doing anything wrong or if the duplication problem is with the default Contacts app.

I only use Signal Private Messenger on my phone. I do not have WhatsApp or any other messaging app. I have no Google account, no Yahoo account, etc. I have Proton Mail, but I have no contacts in my Proton account.

moSess

Resurrect!!! Lol

But yeah, this is an issue I am trying so solve as well. I wish it would have gotten more traction so as to solve

rhimbo

moSess Thank you...!

Yes, I think this important 'default' app is very important. As much as I support the efforts of so many app developers to offer privacy-oriented alternatives to the baic Graphene platform, I do believe that it is very important to have a robust, stable, rock solid set of default apps comprising the basic Graphene experience.
Unfortunately, for the next 6 months I have a full plate. However, after that, if this is not upgraded, I might very well rewrite the app myself (either take over the project if the developer is no longer interested, fork the project, or whatever).

rhimbo

Last week my two phones got updates to the default text messaging app. The new version looks much slicker, easier to read, and has some additional features.
I hope the default contacts list app gets the same kind of refresh.

MichaelJohn

I have consistently seen the default Contacts app create duplicate entries. I'm not sure how or when this happens. For those contacts that have duplicates, I can see the duplicates if I search for data in the contact (name, phone number, etc.) or if I just scroll through all the contacts

Question, is this not being caused by you having both the same contact from your CalDav contacts and from Signal messenger? I have noticed the stock contacts App draws contacts from both sides, leading to duplicates. You might want to disable Signal contacts from syncing to your contacts to avoid duplicates.

rhimbo

MichaelJohn
Well, in my case, in the contacts list app, I have no associated accounts. In "Settings -> Accounts" there are no "Accounts for Owner"

In Signal, I do not allow access to my address book. So, right now, there are no "linked accounts" in my contacts list app; I unlinked them all and removed all duplicates.

But there are multiple problems here. First of all, even if somehow CalDav was importing from Signal, why would there be 50 duplications of a contact?

Secondly, I had over 200 such entries that had "linked" duplicate entries. The "linked" entries did not come from Signal; they were just duplications of the entry in CalDav. I couldn't even tell you how or when the duplications occurred.

I don't copy the entries from one phone to another, so that couldn't be the explanation of how the duplications were created.

In Signal, I have a list of conversations. I do not have any contacts list. But even if I did, I'm not aware of Signal writing entries to CalDav.

CalDav is the only 'original source' of contacts in my case. Any conversation I start in Signal would use the information in CalDav. CalDav never 'imports' any entries from Signal, and, as I said earlier, Signal has no contacts list.

In sum, I don't believe there should be duplications. I cannot see how this is not a bug.

And forgive me if I'm misusing the term "CalDav" versus "contacts list app." I'm looking up CalDav right now to understand exactly what this term means...

MichaelJohn

rhimbo no worries, this was a random guess from me because I had a similar issue with the same contact appearing a few times, one from my synced contacts (Card/CalDav) and one from Molly (signal) same phone number, different source.

But if you don't have Signal as an account source then I'm out of ideas, since disabling it was what was causing an issue for me.

GazelleInitial

I must have had this issue at some point. I had to go through and delete loads of contacts in fossify contacts identical duplicates in the "phone storage"/

SplatterGames

rhimbo CalDav is the only 'original source' of contacts in my case.

Which CalDAV provider do you use? It rather sounds like a sync or deduplication issue.

rhimbo

MichaelJohn
Thanks for the contributions nevertheless. It is always good to explore all possibilities, and the scenario that you described is a valid one.

In fact, I first noticed the problem on my previous phone. At that time, Signal had been configured to import the contacts from my contacts list. On this current phone, I specifically made sure that I was not linking any accounts. The primary reason was that I found all the descriptions of what linking does was very confusing... especially the descriptions in the Signal app...!

I am convinced there is some major bug here. I cannot think of a scenario in which it makes sense to have duplicates. And, what I'm seeing is (as I originally described when I posted this question) that not only are contacts entries duplicated, but I see sometimes 50 or more duplications of fields within a contact for example the phone number repeated 50 times...!

rhimbo

SplatterGames
I'm using only the standard 'stock' Graphene OS packages/libraries/etc..... The "Settings -> About Contacts" shows "Build 1.7.34" but this problem has been present for the 2+ years that I've been using Graphene OS.
Is there a place where I can see more detailed information about libraries/packages that are being used by the contacts list app?

SplatterGames

rhimbo okay, maybe I misread that you had your contacts synced via DAV. If they are only stored on device, they should not duplicate and that seems like a bug indeed.