It has been a part of iOS for years, but is still a feature that most users neglect: My Contact. Built into the Contacts app, My Contact is where you store all your contact information. Why? Despite the belief that it’s not used for anything, the My Contact information can come in handy – especially when sharing information, or when trying to identify the owner of a lost iPhone. Here, we explain the benefits of filling out the My Contact information on your iPhone, and explain how to do it.
Read next: How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone | How to set up a new iPhone | How to block any number on an iPhone
Why you should fill out My Contact information on your iPhone: Sharing contact details
The most obvious reason to fill out the My Contact card within the Contacts app is to make sharing your contact information much easier – especially if you don’t know your mobile number off by heart. Instead of having to read out your contact information bit by bit, you can simply share the My Contact card with the recipient via AirDrop, text, and email, amongst other options.
But how do you share your My Contact card? Simply open the Contacts app, scroll to the top of the page, tap on your My Contact card, scroll to the bottom of the listing and tap Share Contact. You’ll then be presented with a number of ways to share your contact details.
However, easy contact sharing isn’t the only reason to make sure your My Contact information is up to date…
Read next: How to block and report iMessage spam
Why you should fill out My Contact information on your iPhone: Identify the owner of a lost iPhone
As well as making it much easier to share your contact details with friends, family and colleagues, the My Contact card can be used to identify the owner of a lost iPhone. Okay, while there are some people out there that’d just pocket a lost iPhone if they found it, you might get lucky and have a tech-savvy, good Samaritan stumble upon it. You’ll want to make sure that Siri is activated, and that it can be accessed when locked by going to Settings > Siri and toggling on the aforementioned options.
Why? If your contact information is up to date, the person can activate Siri by pressing and holding the Home button, then asking “Whose iPhone is this?”. Siri should then display limited contact information, including options to FaceTime the owner, an email address to contact them and a photo to identify them.
How to update the My Contact information on your iPhone
Updating the My Contact information is an extremely easy task, and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete. Not a bad trade for a feature that could help a good Samaritan return your lost iPhone, right?
Anyway, on your iPhone, simply open the Contacts app and scroll to the top of your contact list. This can be done manually, or by tapping the iOS clock at the top of the display (it’s a fairly unknown feature that’s universal across most first- and third-party apps). Above the list of contacts, you should see your My Contact card – tap it, and you’ll be taken to a standard Contacts page.
To update the information in your My Contact card, tap Edit in the top-right hand corner and add the relevant information. While not mandatory, we’d also suggest adding a clear photo of yourself (avoid group shots), making it easier for strangers to identify who you are. Once you’ve added all your information, simply click Done in the top-right hand corner to save your changes. It’s that easy!
Read next: How to put an iPhone into DFU mode
Author: Lewis Painter, Senior Staff Writer
Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You'll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.