> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.whapi.cloud/help-desk/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.whapi.cloud/help-desk/contacts/get-contacts.md).

# Get contacts

In WhatsApp, every contact is essentially a chat. So what’s the difference between GET /chats and GET /contacts?

* GET /chats returns only those contacts with whom you have an active or past conversation — in other words, chats that already exist.
* GET /contacts returns all WhatsApp accounts your number can see — including those saved in your phone book and participants of any groups you’re a member of.

This may cause some confusion because GET /contacts usually returns more entries than you actually have saved on your phone. That’s expected: the method includes every user who shares a group with you, even if they are not saved in your address book.

To distinguish real phone contacts from automatically discovered ones, check the saved flag in the response:

* "phonebook": true — this contact is saved in your phone's address book.
* "phonebook": false — this contact is not saved on your phone (e.g., a group participant or there was a private conversation with this number, without adding it to contacts).\
  \
  The response also still includes the older `"saved"` field with the same true/false value — `phonebook` and `saved` are two names for the same flag, just with a clearer name. Both fields are returned together for now; `saved` is kept only for backward compatibility and will eventually be removed, so use `phonebook` in new integrations.

{% hint style="info" %}
Note: WhatsApp does not always provide contact names. Some contacts may appear without a name field in the response — this is expected behavior on WhatsApp's side and cannot be controlled via the API.
{% endhint %}

Both `"saved": true` and `"saved": false` contacts can be deleted via the API. Only `"saved": true` contacts (those in your phone's address book) can be edited.

When you delete a contact via the API, it disappears from GET /contacts responses entirely — it does not remain with either `"saved": true` or `"saved": false`.

**Endpoint**

[GET https://gate.whapi.cloud/contacts](https://whapi.readme.io/reference/getcontacts)

**Example response**

```json
{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "id": "601111311480",
      "pushname": "MC",
      "phonebook": false,
      "saved": false
    },
    {
      "id": "972523637999",
      "pushname": "Omer-Ben",
      "phonebook": false,
      "saved": false
    },
    {
      "id": "619528001122",
      "name": "24name",
      "phonebook": true,
      "saved": true
    }
  ],
  "count": 100,
  "total": 1317
}
```

This response includes the list of all visible contacts, the number of returned items (count), and the total number of contacts accessible to your WhatsApp account.