When you first try to import contacts from Apple Contacts, you'll be asked to grant Contacts Journal access to your contacts. This guide walks you through what you'll see and what to choose.
Quick tip: For the best experience, choose Share All [X] Contacts when prompted. You can always change this later.
Step 1: The first prompt
The first dialog comes from Contacts Journal itself, asking if you'd like to proceed.
- Tap Don't Allow if you don't want to connect Apple Contacts at all (see below).
- Tap Continue to move to the next step.
Step 2: Choose how to share contacts
After tapping Continue, iOS will show a system screen asking how you want to share your contacts with Contacts Journal.
You have two choices here:
Share All [X] Contacts — Recommended
This gives Contacts Journal full access to your Apple Contacts, though you can still pick and choose which contacts to import. It's the best option for most users because it allows the app to:
- Import any contacts you choose
- Sync updates automatically (e.g. if you add a phone number or email to a contact)
- Notify you when new contacts are added to Apple Contacts
- Easy to import more contacts later
Select Contacts
If you tap Select Contacts, it will bring up an Apple-provided system page that lets you hand-pick which contacts to share with Contacts Journal. Only those contacts (and their data) will be visible to the app, and Contacts Journal has no access to any other contact information. You can edit the list of selected contacts later, from within Contacts Journal, or from the Settings app.
Note: With Select Contacts, you won't get automatic detection of new contacts. You can always add more later using Import From Contacts inside the app.
If you tapped "Don't Allow"
If you tapped Don't Allow, the app won't ask again, and you will not be able to import contacts from Apple Contacts. You can still use Contacts Journal with Private Contacts (contacts stored only in the app, not synced with Apple Contacts). To enable Apple Contacts access later, see the section below.
Changing your access level later
If you want to switch from Select Contacts to full access, or re-enable access after tapping Don't Allow, here's how:
On your iPhone or iPad, go to: Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts › CJournal
From there, choose Full Access (or adjust your selected contacts).
Summary
| What you tapped | What it means |
|---|---|
| Don't Allow | No Apple Contacts access. Private Contacts still work. |
| Select Contacts | Only the contacts you pick are shared with the app. |
| Share All Contacts | Full access — recommended for the best experience. |