Beside syncs contacts from your phone's native Contacts app on iPhone and Android.
This article covers how contact permissions work, what the Maybe: [Name] suggestion means, how to delete contacts, and how to troubleshoot if contacts go missing.
How contact access works
Your contacts sync when:
You grant the Beside mobile app permission to access contacts
Changes are made in your device's Contacts app
ℹ️ One-way sync:
Contacts created in the Beside app will be stored in Beside only and won't be added to your device's address book:
If the contact exists in your phone's Contacts app → it's a device contact, and will sync with Beside automatically once permissions are granted.
If the contact was created inside Beside → it's a Beside-only contact
Contact permissions
Beside needs access to your phone's contacts to sync your address book.
Grant full access for the best experience - you can change this anytime in your device settings.
📌 Permissions
If contacts are missing or incomplete, it's usually a permissions issue on the device.
If your contacts do not display correctly within Beside even after enabling permissions, simply disable and then re-enable contact access for Beside in your phone's settings. This refreshes the synchronization process and resolves most issues related to missing profiles or details.
iPhone
iPhone
When Beside requests access, Apple gives you two options:
1️⃣ Select Contacts - lets you choose specific contacts to share with Beside. Use this if you want to restrict access.
2️⃣ Allow Full Access (recommended) - grants Beside access to your entire address book, synced automatically. Access can be changed anytime in iOS Settings.
💡 If you accidentally chose Select Contacts and expected everything to sync, follow these steps to switch to Full Access:
Open Settings on your iPhone
Scroll down and tap Beside
Tap Contacts
Select All Contacts
Close and reopen Beside to apply the change
Your contacts will now sync automatically. ✅
⚠️ iOS known limitation:
On iPhone, contact permissions control what Beside can access going forward.
If you previously allowed full access, some contacts may remain visible in Beside even after switching to None or Selected Contacts.
To fully remove a device contact from Beside, delete it from your iPhone's Contacts app.
Android
Android
On Android, the contact permission is simpler - you either allow Beside to access your contacts or you don't.
To verify or enable it:
Open Settings
Tap Apps → Beside
Tap Permissions
Enable Contacts
Restart the Beside app
Android devices sync immediately after permissions are updated. ✅
Suggested contact names
When you receive or make a call with a number that isn't saved in your contacts, Beside may automatically generate a suggested contact name to help you identify the caller more easily.
Here's how it works:
During the call, Beside attempts to extract the caller's name (and email, when available)
The suggested name appears as:
Maybe: John Smith- so you always know it's a suggestion, not a confirmed contactIf the number is already saved in your device contacts, your saved name always takes priority
You can save, edit, or ignore the suggested name at any time.
Turn off suggested contact names (iPhone only)
On iPhone, you can disable this feature entirely:
Open the Beside app → Settings → Preferences → toggle Suggest Contact Names off. ❌
📌 Note: The option to disable suggested contact names is not yet available on Android.
Delete contacts from Beside
How you delete a contact depends on where it was originally created.
Contacts from your device's Contacts app
These contacts cannot be deleted from within Beside. Because they're synced from your device, the only way to remove them is to delete them directly from your iPhone or Android Contacts app. Once deleted there, Beside will update automatically.
Contacts saved inside Beside
These contacts exist only in Beside and can be deleted from within the app:
Open the Beside mobile app
Tap the ➕ icon (top right) to open your contact list
Tap the contact to open their conversation
Tap the contact's name at the top to open the contact card
Scroll down and tap Delete Contact
⚠️ Known limitations:
iPhone: If you don't have an existing text conversation with that contact (or it was deleted), you won't be able to open the contact card to delete it. This is due to how iOS handles contact permissions.
Android: Disabling contact permissions may temporarily hide all contacts in Beside, including Beside-only contacts. They are not deleted - they'll reappear once permissions are re-enabled.
Troubleshooting: missing contacts
If your contacts are missing or appear incomplete within Beside:
Open your device's settings and navigate to the Beside app
Disable contact access and then re-enable it
This will refresh synchronization between Beside and your address book, resolving most issues. If contacts are still missing, reach out through the in-app support chat.
FAQs
I see Maybe: [Name] next to a contact - what does it mean and can I change it?
I see Maybe: [Name] next to a contact - what does it mean and can I change it?
The Maybe: [Name] label is a suggested contact name generated by Beside for callers whose number isn't saved in your contacts.
During a call, Beside tries to identify the caller's name and shows it as a suggestion - formatted as Maybe: John Smith - so it's clear this is AI-generated and not yet confirmed.
To change or confirm the name:
Save the contact with the correct name directly from the call or conversation view
Or edit the contact from your device's Contacts app
Once saved, your chosen name replaces the Maybe suggestion permanently.
📌 Note:
Beside never overwrites a name you've already saved in your contacts.
The
Maybelabel only appears when a number isn't in your address book.On iPhone, you can disable suggested names entirely via Settings → Preferences → Suggest Contact Names.
How can I identify contacts that are already using Beside?
How can I identify contacts that are already using Beside?
When you open your contact list in Beside, any contact with an active Beside account will appear with the label "Already on Beside."
To check:
Open the Beside app
Tap the ➕ icon (top right) to open your contact list
Look for contacts labeled "Already on Beside"
ℹ️ If you previously saw a notification about a contact joining Beside, that notification can't be retrieved later. The contact list is the best way to check at any time.