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.vcf

vCard Contact

Email & Calendar

VCF stores vCard contact information and may contain multiple contacts or photos. Check version compatibility, duplicates, encoding and phone-number formatting before importing into your main address book.

What it is used for
Exchange of names, phone numbers and email addresses
What the file contains
Text
All sections, questions and sources

Content reviewed： · Editor：Kai

First: choose for your purpose

A contact VCF is a vCard, but the extension also denotes genomic Variant Call Format. Check the source: BEGIN:VCARD indicates contact data, while ##fileformat=VCF indicates genomic data. Back up your address book before importing contacts.

Opening steps

Choose your environment or purpose to see its steps.

Computer: import into Google Contacts

Choose an appropriate destination account.

  1. Export current Google Contacts and confirm the destination account.
  2. Choose Import > Select file, select the contact VCF and import it.
  3. Inspect the added count, numbers, email addresses and names. Look in Notes for missing details.
Mac: import with Contacts

Inspect overlap with the current address book.

  1. Export a backup from Contacts and retain the source VCF.
  2. Use File > Import or open the VCF in Contacts and inspect the proposed entries.
  3. Compare numbers, email and organization before merging; a matching name alone is insufficient.
iPhone / Android: check storage destination

Distinguish device storage from cloud synchronization.

  1. Save the VCF from a trusted source and open it with a contacts application.
  2. Check the destination account and contacts to add; controls differ by OS and app.
  3. Verify important fields on the synchronized account too, and avoid repeated imports.

Menu labels and support vary by app, OS and version. Preserve the original before making changes.

Troubleshooting by symptom

  • Garbled names: check encoding/version and request a compatible export.
  • Duplicate contacts: inspect repeated imports and existing entries.
  • Missing photos/custom fields: compare supported fields individually.
  • Duplicate names appear: repeated imports or multiple displayed accounts may cause this. Compare destination and phone numbers before merging.
  • Leading zeros or plus signs disappear: a CSV/spreadsheet step may have interpreted numbers numerically. Preserve them as text and compare with the VCF.
  • VCF import fails: it may be genomic VCF, damaged or another format. Check its source and header rather than relying on the extension.

VCF → CSV / another address book

  1. Import into a compatible address book and inspect fields/counts.
  2. Where CSV export is supported, map columns and preserve phone numbers as text.
  3. Check multi-value phone fields, photos, addresses and synchronization destination as well as counts.

CSV may not retain photos, multiple numbers or custom fields equivalently.

Contact VCF versus genomic VCF

vCard stores contact fields. Genomic VCF describes chromosome positions and variants under a different specification. Use the data owner’s analysis workflow rather than importing a research file as contacts.

Source for these steps：IETF / RFC Editor · RFC 6350 — vCard / HTSlib · Variant Call Format

Fields to compare after migration

Multiple numbers/emails, photos, addresses and custom fields may map differently in the destination. Test several people first, then compare counts and important entries.

VCF often contains other people’s personal data. Use approved accounts and controlled storage, including for backups, rather than public conversion services.

Source for these steps：Google · Import your contacts into Google Contacts

Related-format differences

Related-format differences
Format / choicePurpose and preserved information
VCF / vCardContact interchange; photo and multi-value support differs.
CSVTabular migration requiring field mapping and text handling for numbers.
VCF (Variant Call Format)Separate genomic format; not an address-book file.

Handling and security

VCF can disclose personal numbers and addresses. Check permission before uploading or publishing contact lists.

Questions and answers

Does VCF hold only one contact?

It may contain multiple vCards.

Is the latest vCard always compatible?

No; check the recipient’s supported versions.

Does CSV retain contact photos?

Normally it does not retain embedded photos.

Does opening VCF automatically overwrite contacts?

Behavior depends on the app and destination. Inspect import/duplicate prompts and back up existing contacts first.

Does conversion to CSV preserve every field?

Photos, multiple values or custom fields may be lost. Test required fields on a small sample and retain the VCF.

Format facts: name, steward and MIME type
Formal name
vCard
Steward / specification
IETF (RFC 6350 for vCard 4.0)
MIME type
text/vcard

Primary and official sources