Microsoft introduced in Windows 10 an application that has become one of the most unknown and least used of all those included by default in the operating system, such as Contacts. Although we may possibly think that it is only an address book or contacts, the truth is that it is a tool that can be very useful in certain situations, so it can be interesting to get to know it better.
And it is that the Contacts app can be useful if we want to be in contact with other Skype or Outlook users. In addition, as it is integrated into the Mail and Calendar applications, it can also be used to notify us of any of our contacts.
Of course, from the Contacts application, it will be possible for us to add, edit or delete contacts and also pin those that we use the most or that are most important to us to the taskbar as we will show below.
Access the Contacts app
In order to access the Contacts application (People) it is necessary that we have Windows 10 updated to the latest version. If that is our case, we will see an icon in the shape of people on the taskbar . In the case of passing the mouse pointer over it, we will not realize that we are facing the Contacts app.
To access we click on the Contacts icon and a new window will appear where we will click on the Start button.
Automatically import contacts
On the next screen we can connect applications to add people from them to the contact list. By default, the People and Mail applications appear with which we can connect and synchronize contacts. We can also get more applications from the Microsoft Store.
It will only be necessary to click on any option and connect to our account. For example, if we select Mail we must log in with an email account and password to use with this application. Once synchronized we can access the entire list of contacts.
Add and delete contact manually
It is also possible to add a contact manually. To do this, at the bottom we find the Search and pin contacts section, from where we can pin contacts to the taskbar, being able to choose between suggestions or directly search for the ones we want to pin. If we click on the icon with three points on the right, a small menu will appear where we have the option of New contact.
By clicking on it we can add a new contact by adding a photo, their name, phone number, email, address among other details that we want to keep. Once the form is completed with our contact information, we save it by clicking on the Save button.
To delete a contact, once we have it selected, we click on the menu button with the three points that appears next to the edit button that we mentioned before and among the options that are shown, choose to delete the contact. Next, we will have to confirm that we want to delete it in the confirmation window that is displayed.
Pin to taskbar
Once we have synchronized and added all our contacts, it is possible to add a direct access to the task bar of that person or people that interest us the most to be able to access them more quickly. We simply have to click on the Search section and anchor contacts so that all available ones appear. We just have to click on the desired one so that the shortcut is automatically added to the taskbar.
When clicking on the access created, the contact card will appear with all the information available and that we have added to your file. We can also edit it to add new fields, as well as modify or delete some of the existing ones, by clicking on the three-dot icon in the upper right.
This shortcut can be removed at any time by simply clicking on it with the right mouse button and then selecting the Unpin from taskbar option.
By default, the maximum number of contacts that we can add is three, although this can be configured from the Personalize and Toolbar section of the Windows Configuration menu. From here we can also decide if we want to receive notifications from our relatives, play sound when we receive a notification and show suggestions.
Hide the app from the taskbar
In the event that we do not want to have this application visible on the taskbar, we can hide it. In this case, we must press the keyboard shortcut Windows + I to access the Configuration menu. We can also access it from the application itself by clicking on the icon with three points and selecting the Contacts option.
Then click on Personalize and on the next screen click on Taskbar. We scroll to the bottom of the right column to the Contacts section. Here we click on the Show contacts in the taskbar section so that it appears as Deactivated .
Likewise, if we want to show this contact search engine on our start bar again, all we have to do is access the Windows Configuration menu and recheck the “Show contacts on the taskbar” option so that the icon reappears and we can continue using this function.
Uninstall the Contacts app
In the event that we are not going to use the application anymore, it is possible to hide it from the taskbar so that it does not bother us as we have seen previously. But if this is not enough and we want to eliminate it, it should be said that Microsoft does not make it easy to eliminate system applications that are installed by default.
Even if we look for Contacts within the Applications that appear in the Configuration menu, we will verify that it does not appear. And it is that for the system the application is installed under the name of People. When we find it, we will see that it does not allow us to uninstall it in a traditional way , so we will have to resort to other methods.
Use PowerShell
To completely remove the Contacts application we can use the Windows PowerShell command line tool. To do this, we type powershell in the Start menu search box and run it with administrator rights.
Once it appears, we write the following command and press Enter to confirm:
Get-AppxPackage *people* | Remove-AppxPackage
This command will delete the application from our PC without leaving a trace. after reboot the PC we can see that the Contacts app no longer appears in our system. If later we want to reinstall it, simply download it from the Microsoft Store.
Via O&O AppBuster
It is free , portable and easy-to-use software that will allow us to uninstall any Microsoft application that is installed by default in Windows 10 or Windows 11. It even allows us to reinstall it in the event that we delete it and later we we regret We can download it from the developer’s website .
Once downloaded, we run the application and a main menu will appear from where we will have access to all Microsoft applications, both those that are included by default in the system and those that we install from the Windows Store. Thus, we only have to use the search engine to search for Microsoft People and mark it. Once this is done, we click on Remove to delete it forever from the system.
Can I use the Contacts app in Windows 11?
With the arrival of Windows 11, Microsoft was in charge of maintaining most of the applications and tools that Windows 10 has, although some others were also lost along the way. And this is the case of the Contacts app which is no longer present in the taskbar .
Now instead it is accessible from the Mail application where it has been integrated and no longer allows pinning a contact to the taskbar for easier access. If we are still interested in using the application, we must enter the Mail app and we will see how in the lower left we find the Switch to contacts icon on which we click.
This will open a new window for the People app, which is what Microsoft originally calls Contacts in its English version. From here we will be able to import contacts from the Import contacts icon and select the account from which the import will be carried out.
We can also add the contacts manually by clicking on the icon with a plus symbol (+) from where we can insert a photo, add their name, telephone number and email address.
In addition, it allows us to filter contacts by hiding those that do not have a phone number or show only those belonging to Hotmail and Gmail accounts and that are active in the Mail application.
