Contacts app has huge data storage

My iPhone has been acting strange lately, with unexpectedly disconnecting my phone conversation and aborting my text message composing. Upon days of researching, I noticed (under Settings>general>iPhone Storage>Contacts) my Contacts app shows huge storage use of 1.41 GB on its Documents & Data (compared to my wife's only 32.1 MB and we have about the same list of contacts). If I try to delete and reinstall the Contacts app, it would still show 1.41 GB of storage used for Documents & Data. I noticed a lot of people on this forum have the same issue. Can somebody please help? Thanks so much in advance.

Posted on Mar 16, 2022 8:04 AM

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4 replies

Mar 17, 2022 8:49 AM in response to loann2846

Hi there, Ioann2846,


To get started troubleshooting the storage issue with the Contacts app, we recommend the following steps. Try each one in order, checking to see if the storage amount has changed between each:


  1. Close all open apps: Close an app on your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support and restart your iPhone: Restart your iPhone - Apple Support. This will clear some system caches and allow the system time to reorganize and update its information.
  2. Make sure you are on the latest iOS version available for your device: Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support. This will ensure your iPhone has all available .
  3. Update all your third party apps, particularly any that may access your contacts: How to manually update apps on your Apple device - Apple Support. This will ensure there are no conflicts with app software and your device.


Don't hesitate to respond back if you still have issues.

Mar 17, 2022 2:25 PM in response to loann2846

Hello loann2846,


I would advise to see real storage of your iOS device via iTunes on PC.


Use the Finder or iTunes to check the storage on your iOS device How to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support


  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes.
  2. Connect your device to your computer.
  3. Select your device in the Finder or in iTunes. You'll see a bar that shows how much storage your content uses, divided by content type. 
  4. Move your mouse over the bar to see how much storage each content type is using.



Sometimes iOS needs time to re-calculate storage space and I would recommend to wait at least 48h.





Mar 17, 2022 2:17 PM in response to Lindsay_B.

Thanks, Lindsay, for helping. I did all these steps. I went even further by deleting (after backing up to icloud) all extra apps, all contacts (i.e., contact list is now empty). Then again, I checked under Settings>general>iPhone Storage>Contacts. The app itself uses only 770 KB, but it still relentlessly shows the same 1.41 GB huge storage used by its Documents & Data.(?) So strange.

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Contacts app has huge data storage

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