Ask HN: What software do you use to manage contacts? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What software do you use to manage contacts?

36 pointscamjohnson2626 comments

Google Contacts has privacy problems, and all Linux and iPhone address book software I've found is under-powered or has a bad UI. Does anyone have a contact management set up that they love?

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I'm currently using a mix of MonicaHQ[1], Nextcloud[2], and Fastmail[3]. Obviously Fastmail isn't self-hosted, but monicahq/nextcloud are. I find it hard to use a webmail client without also having my contacts available to that mail client.

I really want to use MonicaHQ more, but it just feels like a lot of work whenever I log in to it so it gets pretty neglected. My alternative is to store notes about contacts in random spreadsheets, text files, or something like Joplin[4].

On Android, I'm syncing my contacts (and calendars) using davx5[5] with Nextcloud as the server. Nextcloud is already my tool for syncing files, so it having a carddav/caldav server built-in is just a convenient bonus. However, I'm considering moving to EteSync[6] in the near-future for end-to-end encrypted carddav/caldav server.

For moving contacts between different accounts, de-duping, and some other maintenance tasks I'm using an android app called "Contacts Optimizer"[7].

I guess I should also mention that this is just for my personal contacts. I do have to use google contacts for my work gsuite account.

[1] https://www.monicahq.com/ [2] https://nextcloud.com/ [3] https://www.fastmail.com [4] https://joplinapp.org/ [5] https://www.davx5.com/ [6] https://www.etesync.com/ [7] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compelson....

> it just feels like a lot of work whenever I log in to it so it gets pretty neglected. My alternative is to store notes about contacts in random spreadsheets, text files, or something like Joplin.

Interesting. Could you elaborate why it feels like more work to log into tools such as Monica than to open spreadsheet, text files, or Joplin?

> I really want to use MonicaHQ more, but it just feels like a lot of work whenever I log in to it so it gets pretty neglected.

I'm writing software for a personal knowledge base. Can you describe what makes MonicaHQ a chore?

I use Contacts+ (formerly FullContact): https://www.contactsplus.com/

You can sign up for free and sync it with things like Twitter, GMail, Outlook, LinkedIn, etc. It's really nice and I've been using it happily for years. It helps with things like deduplication, keeping your contact info updated (it'll update contact records if people change their Twitter handle, etc.), and just all sorts of stuff.

I created EteSync a few years ago to securely sync my contacts, calendars and tasks. You can use the hosted solution or self host.

It doesn't work on iOS yet, but it's coming very soon: https://blog.etesync.com/nlnet-grant-and-the-ios-client/

I just checked this out and from what I can tell at this point, it sounds really great! I'm definitely going to give it a whirl in the next few days. I've been wanting something like this for the longest time.

Thanks for creating this, please keep going.

I'm a super disorganized introvert but I'm puzzled by this. Do people on HN have actual systems to organize people they meet in lists and take notes about them? Is this like for sales calls or normal people also do this for regular social events? Is everyone else doing this?

I have a personal notes app (Bear) where I journal about all types of things. Mostly todo lists, ideas, that kind of thing, but I also have a section dedicated to people I meet. I don't always make a note but sometimes I do. I rarely look back at these notes but I think it helps me remember details about them. And sometimes I do look back at the notes.

I have sections for the people I met through running (different run clubs, etc), work, etc.

I keep an excel spreadsheet with all my contacts I have made over the years with notes and categories. I usually try to go through it once or twice a year and update old records.

I’ve used this to populate a couple of different CRMs I had but I always keep the excel updated. This lets me always be able to maintain my contacts and update any device or system I need to.

Yea this is kinda low tech but it has proven super easy to manage and has allowed me to keep my contacts even after I leave a position. And I am never held hostage to any specific software system as I also export a CSV backup after I do a cleanup too.

Consider checking out https://www.monicahq.com/

I've used my contacts systems for years. Earliest entry I can find is 1996.

It's easy to search. Incredibly easy to use. Works on Desktop, Web and Mobiles (Android, iPhone and for me, BlackBerry) and synchronises across all of them. Anniversaries and Birthdays appear in Calendars. Integrates with my email system. Info stored in it is fully encrypted. Allows for groups. Both for mailing, SMS messages and other contact apps.

Oh, it's name? Lotus Notes. (And no, I'm not joking. It is by far the best system I've ever used. Get over it.)

Idk, iPhone Contacts app isn’t a crm, but it seems to work otherwise.

Take a look at "Time and Chaos" https://www.chaossoftware.com/chaos.aspx

Or "Intellect" that offers additionally email support. https://www.chaossoftware.com/intellect.aspx

I used to use them a few years ago but i think they didn't evolve as they should. Anyway you can try them...

Simple Contacts via F-Droid. Export to vcf once in a while and backup local and remote. Keep in mind, as soon as you integrate with anything you don't control (including caller id), you're right back to the privacy problems, so make sure your expectations of power account for that. Under-powered is a hard-to-find feature as far as I'm concerned.

I'm currently trying out https://covve.com. It has some of the features that I need like reminders, deduplication and CRM-esque features. I don't like the UI much but it's not that bad either.

I like https://flexibits.com/cardhop both iOS and desktop apps

What’s missing/are the issues with Apple contacts?

I usually take notes if I am adding a new contact that I don't know much about (E.g. Met at a meeting at CloudHQ). This was totally broken prior to iOS 13. I recently updated the OS and it works.

No easy way to merge duplicates and little to no support for bulk editing.

Android support ?

Export to JSON/XML/CSV for starters.

Nothing, since Palm Desktop when I had a Treo 600.

> Google Contacts has privacy problems

can you name a few ?

It’s hosted by Google.

I don’t.

contacts.org

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