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Contacts

📪 In mail , composing , " To " , when I begin typing , a contact appears .

A contact that I didn't enter into my Contacts , so I block them .

Why does this occur & where does the contact come from if I didn't put it in ?


Additionally , in the Contacts app , I'm listed first and again under the first letter of my last name , is this correct ?



iPad, iPadOS 16

Posted on Jan 27, 2023 2:05 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 1:04 PM

If that address keeps popping up, it could be that the address is in the Previous Recipients list. A list of addresses that Mail and Messages (and even Phone) apps use for auto-completing addresses, and to bypass blocked mail filtering. Mail automatically adds addresses you send email to (deliberately or accidentally) onto that list. Addresses which can stay on that Previous Recipients list until you explicitly remove them.


I'd recommend checking the list, and -- if it is on that list, removing it. The problem with doing this is: you can't view or edit that list on an iPhone or iPad. To view (and edit) the Previous Recipients list, you must use Mail on a Mac.


In Mail -> Windows [not Settings] choose Previous Recipients to see the list. Select entries, and use the Remove From List button to remove a recipient's address.


[I have a Reminder, to -- as a New Year's resolution -- review that list once a year; my list has accumulated entries dating all the way back to 2009.]



4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 28, 2023 1:04 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

If that address keeps popping up, it could be that the address is in the Previous Recipients list. A list of addresses that Mail and Messages (and even Phone) apps use for auto-completing addresses, and to bypass blocked mail filtering. Mail automatically adds addresses you send email to (deliberately or accidentally) onto that list. Addresses which can stay on that Previous Recipients list until you explicitly remove them.


I'd recommend checking the list, and -- if it is on that list, removing it. The problem with doing this is: you can't view or edit that list on an iPhone or iPad. To view (and edit) the Previous Recipients list, you must use Mail on a Mac.


In Mail -> Windows [not Settings] choose Previous Recipients to see the list. Select entries, and use the Remove From List button to remove a recipient's address.


[I have a Reminder, to -- as a New Year's resolution -- review that list once a year; my list has accumulated entries dating all the way back to 2009.]



Jan 27, 2023 7:16 AM in response to SteelCityAnne

It's pulling that contact from some email you received at some point. It could have been a spam email or an advertising email. Whatever it was, the app is making some connection between that address and what you're typing. The address is stuck in the cache for Mail. As long as you delete it every time it appears, it should eventually fade away. Your other option is to restore your phone as new, not from a backup.


But it's not anything nefarious.

Contacts

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