Can my contacts on my iPhone see my personal information such as my home address and "related names" (relatives)?

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Level 1

14 points

Can my contacts on my iPhone see my personal information such as my home address and "related names" (relatives)?

I was setting up my own info in Contacts on my iPhone 5S to keep things organized and tidy. I added in my home addresses (I have two) and added my relatives' names as well. I did this to make things convenient for me, especially when using Maps... I can just type or say "home" or "home2" instead of typing in the entire address or scrolling around and zooming in with my fingers. It's especially handy when I'm driving and don't want to use my hands. I also added in my relatives' names so I can just tell Siri to give me directions to "aunt Debbie" or "call uncle Joe," etc...

But then I realized this is information that my contacts can probably see. Many of my contacts are only professional acquaintances (not friends) and I don't want them to know my home addresses or the names of my relatives. All I want my contacts to see is my phone number, job title, and the link to my LinkedIn page.

As far as I know there is no setting to control what info is visible to your contacts. If there is, can someone please point it out to me? If not, is there another solution? Or should I just not have my addresses stored in my phone (which kind of defeats the purpose of the phone being convenient when you need it to)? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

iPhone 5S

iOS 8.2

iPhone 5s, iOS 8.2

Posted on Mar 30, 2015 5:56 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

IdrisSeabright

Level 10

155,591 points

Mar 30, 2015 6:00 AM in response to AutoSketcher

Your contacts can't see anything on your phone. Contacts is a database for your use. Unless you are sharing an account with someone, or unless you hand your phone to someone, no one else can see that information.

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Answer 2

Mar 30, 2015 1:27 PM in response to AutoSketcher

Yes, it is right. If you're concerned about protecting the data on your phone, put a passcode on your phone. Don't unlock it and hand it to anyone you wouldn't trust with your walled, car keys and credit cards.

In the U.S. until very recently (and it's probably still true for many) almost everyone's home address was publicly available in phone books that were provided by the phone company. For most people, a home address was not considered highly private information. I'm not sure when or why that changed, especially as, again in the U.S., most people are less likely to be the victim of a crime.

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Answer 3

AutoSketcher Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 30, 2015 11:23 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

I hope that's right. With social networking and social integration and now iCloud in the picture, I wonder what gets synced these days between contacts. I have contacts in my iPhone who I have no idea who they are but they automatically synced to my phone simply because I had an email exchange with them once upon a time. And I'll get those same peoples' birthday reminders (as if I care), LinkedIn links, and though I don't use facebook or twitter I'm sure those show up on everybody's contacts who uses them.

I used to be more tech savvy a few years ago but with more responsibilities as I get older I just don't have the time to study what's what these days. These days it seems like everything is now about the "cloud" and I have no idea what iCloud will sync automatically with other iPhone users. I'm growing increasingly wary about who can see what, and my home addresses and relatives' names are on top of that list.

Thank you for your reply.

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