Facebook Portal is a smart display device that allows you to make video calls and engage with Facebook’s AI assistant. When you first set up your Portal, it will pull in your Facebook friends list to populate your contacts. You may find over time that your Portal contacts list becomes cluttered with people you no longer talk to or want to video chat with. Fortunately, Facebook Portal makes it easy to delete contacts you no longer want.
Why Would You Want to Delete Contacts?
There are a few reasons why you may want to delete contacts from your Facebook Portal:
- To remove contacts you no longer talk to or have a relationship with
- To declutter your contacts list and make it easier to find the people you actually want to call
- If someone has changed their Facebook name and you want to remove their old entry
- To remove contacts that were imported that you don’t actually know or want to talk to
Keeping your Portal contacts list clean and up-to-date can make the video calling experience much more pleasant. It’s easy to accumulate old contacts over time, so periodically pruning your list is a good idea.
How to View Your Contacts
Before deleting contacts, you’ll first need to pull up your full contacts list. Here’s how to view it:
- From your Portal home screen, say “Hey Portal, open contacts.”
- This will open up your contacts list. You can scroll through alphabetically.
- Alternatively, you can say “Hey Portal, show me my contacts.”
Review your list carefully to identify any contacts you want to remove. If you have a very long list, it may take some time to go through it thoroughly.
How to Delete a Single Contact
Once you’ve identified a contact you want to delete, here are the steps to remove them:
- From your contacts list, select the contact you want to remove.
- This will bring up details for that contact.
- Look for the “Delete Contact” option and select it.
- Confirm that you want to delete the contact when prompted.
The contact will immediately be removed from your Portal contacts list.
How to Delete Multiple Contacts
If you want to delete several contacts at once, follow these steps:
- Open your Portal contacts list and select “Edit”
- This will allow you to select multiple contacts
- Tap each contact you want to delete so they are checked off
- Select “Delete” at the bottom once you’ve selected all contacts to remove
- Confirm you want to delete all selected contacts
This is an easy way to purge multiple unwanted contacts all at once.
How to Delete All Contacts
For a complete contacts list overhaul, you can delete all your Portal contacts at once:
- Go to your contacts list and select “Edit”
- Choose “Select All” to check off your entire list
- Select “Delete” to remove all contacts
- Confirm that you want to delete the full list when prompted
This will completely clear your contacts and allow you to start fresh. Keep in mind you will have to re-add any contacts you want to keep.
Contacts Are Also Deleted from Facebook Account
It’s important to note that deleting a contact from Portal also removes that person from your Facebook contacts. The Portal pulls contacts from your Facebook friend list, so changes are synced.
So if you delete someone from your Portal, they will be removed from your Facebook contacts as well. The person is not notified or unfriended from your Facebook account, just removed from your contacts.
How to Re-Add Contacts
If you delete someone by accident or change your mind, it’s easy to add them back. There are a couple ways to re-add Facebook contacts to your Portal:
- Have the person send you a Facebook friend request again. Once you accept it, they will be added back to your Portal contacts.
- You can search for their name or profile on Facebook and re-add them as a friend. Again, this will restore them to your Portal contacts.
As long as you re-establish the Facebook friend connection, the contact will sync back to your Portal after a short while.
Managing Contacts on Facebook
You can also manage your Portal contacts by editing your Facebook contacts directly:
- On Facebook, go to your Friends list and edit it there.
- Remove any contacts you want deleted from Portal.
- Changes will sync to your Portal after a refresh.
Cleaning up your Facebook contacts list will also declutter your Portal, since the two are linked.
Important Things to Know About Deleting Contacts
Here are some other key points to keep in mind when deleting Portal contacts:
- Deleting is permanent – Once deleted, contacts have to be re-added manually.
- Only Facebook friends sync – You can only call Facebook friends from Portal. Contacts must be friends to be added.
- Syncing takes time – Contact changes can take up to a day to sync between Facebook and Portal.
- No notification – Friends are not notified when you delete or remove them as a contact.
- No impact on messaging – Deleting a Facebook contact does not impact your ability to message them.
So feel free to prune your contacts list without worrying about upsetting friends. Just be cautious before mass deleting contacts you may want to re-add later.
Other Facebook Portal Contact Tips
Managing your contact list is an important Portal skill. Here are some other useful tips for working with your contacts:
- Edit contact names to make them easier to find when calling
- Use favorites to pin your top contacts for quick access
- View friends by most recent interactions to see who you contact the most
- Search contacts by name when your list gets long
- Use Portal phone contacts for non-Facebook friends you want to call
Getting your Portal contacts organized can improve the whole video chatting experience. Make sure to prune your list periodically by deleting contacts you no longer need.
Can You Delete Contacts from Portal Without Removing from Facebook?
No, deleting a contact from Portal will also remove them from your Facebook contacts list. This is because the Portal pulls your contacts directly from your Facebook friend list. Any changes get synced between the two platforms.
So if you just want to manage your Portal contacts separately, that is unfortunately not possible currently. The only way to delete a contact is to fully remove the friendship connection on both Portal and Facebook.
What Happens When You Unfriend Someone on Facebook?
If you completely unfriend or block someone on Facebook, that will also delete them from your Portal contacts:
- Unfriending removes them from your Facebook friends and Portal contacts
- Blocking prevents them from viewing your Facebook profile or contacting you
- You can still message blocked Facebook friends but not call them on Portal
So unfriending or blocking contacts on Facebook is the most permanent way to delete them from your Portal. They would have to send you a new friend request to be restored.
Can You Recover Deleted Facebook Contacts?
If you accidentally delete a Facebook friend, there are a couple options to try recovering them:
- Check your Facebook activity log – recently deleted friends may still be listed there
- Search your messages history for the contact and re-add them
- Use the “People You May Know” section to try to re-find lost contacts
- Ask the person to send you a new Facebook friend request
Recovering recently deleted friends is often possible. But if it has been a long time, your best bet is having the person re-add you themselves.
Conclusion
Keeping your Facebook Portal contacts organized is important for an enjoyable video calling experience. Periodically pruning your contacts list by removing people you no longer talk to or need quick access to can be useful.
Just be cautious when mass deleting contacts, as any removals also delete the friendship connection from your Facebook account. Recovering deleted contacts is not always possible, so be thoughtful in your cleanup efforts.
With a streamlined contact list of your closest friends and family, you can make the most of Portal’s hands-free video calling capabilities. So be diligent about removing old and unwanted contacts occasionally.