Set Up a Google Workspace Shared Contact List for Work Phones
Introduction
If your organisation uses Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), you already maintain a central directory of users. But when teams also need that information available on iOS and Android devices as a shared contact list, the platform doesn’t provide a straightforward way to push those contacts to phones.
The directory works well for email, Google Drive and identity. It just doesn’t extend cleanly to the mobile experience by default. Teams still need those same contacts available in the native contacts app for calling, messaging and caller ID, without maintaining separate lists on each device.
The organisations that approach us for this tend to be larger teams with operational requirements that go beyond the basics. They have field staff, shared devices and 24/7 coverage needs, and they can’t rely on ad-hoc personal contact lists. Increasingly, they standardise on MDM platforms like Workspace ONE, IBM MaaS360, Jamf, Mosyle or Microsoft Intune to keep those devices consistent.
In this post we’ll walk through how Contactzilla turns your Google Workspace Directory into a single managed address book that stays in sync and can be deployed to every work phone using your existing MDM solution or on an individual per device basis using a convenient QR code.
Tip 💡: Contactzilla works with all major MDMs by generating a mobile configuration profile you can upload directly.
If you’re deploying contacts at scale, we have step by step instructions for the major MDM’s:
What we mean by a Google Workspace shared contact list
First, it’s worth being clear about terms.
- Google Workspace Directory is your internal user list. Everyone with an account in your domain, (along with contact info like email address, phone number and job title) managed by your admin.
- Personal Google Contacts are each user’s own contacts in Google Contacts (sometimes referred to as Gmail Contacts) including any contact groups they create for their own use. These can include colleagues, but they sit in that user’s account only.
When we talk about a Google Workspace shared contact list in this post, we mean something more specific: a single, managed list based on your directory that:
- lives in one central address book,
- stays in sync with Google Workspace
- appears on every work phone in the native contacts app for calling, messaging and caller ID.
That’s the outcome achieved by using the Contactzilla Google Workspace Direcrtory importer.
Why Google Workspace shared contacts don’t reach people’s phones by default
When you add a Google Workspace account to an iOS or Android device, the phone only syncs your personal Google Contacts – the ‘My Contacts’ list – into the native contacts app. Your organisation’s directory users and any shared contacts stay inside Google Workspace. They can be searched in Google Contacts, but they don’t appear as a standard contact list on the device.
Because these directory contacts never reach the phone’s local address book, mobile apps can’t see them. The Phone app, WhatsApp, Teams and similar tools rely on the device address book for caller ID and matching numbers to names. If a number only exists in the Google Workspace Directory and not in “My Contacts”, the device treats it as unknown, even if the organisation has the correct information centrally.
Typical workarounds for distributing contacts without a Google Workspace shared contact list
There are a number of ways teams handle contact sharing across work devices. These methods may work for smaller environments, but larger operational teams have additional requirements: a controlled source of truth, high user counts, locking down to read only lists, and caller id in the native phone app.The approaches below are common starting points which do not meet requirements long term.
Using a shared Google account as a central contact list
Some teams create one Google account, add all company contacts to its My Contacts list, and sign that account into every device so the contacts appear locally.
It works in the sense that the list syncs to phones, but the account is shared. Anyone with access can edit or delete contacts, changes apply to all devices immediately, and password updates affect the entire fleet.
This approach is simple to set up but doesn’t scale well in larger environments.
Exchange / Microsoft 365 contact folders and the Global Address List (GAL)
Shared mailbox contact folders and the Microsoft 365 Global Address List (GAL) work well inside Outlook. On mobile, Exchange ActiveSync only syncs a user’s personal Contacts folder, not the GAL or shared mailbox contacts.
Because caller ID on iOS and Android depends on local device contacts, organisations often maintain a separate mobile-friendly list alongside their directory.
VCF or CSV imports
Importing static contact files is quick and predictable.
The limitation is that every change — joiners, leavers or number updates — requires redistributing a new file. At scale, this becomes routine manual work rather than a one-off setup.
Self-hosted CardDAV servers (Nextcloud, Radicale, Baïkal, etc.)
Self-hosted CardDAV solutions give organisations full control over their data.
They also require continuous management: server configuration, permissions, security and monitoring how different mobile platforms interact with the service. They can work well in smaller deployments but introduce operational overhead when rolled out fleet-wide.
See our ultimate guide to enterprise contact management for a deeper look at how large organisations manage contacts at scale.
The core issue for large teams
Across all of these approaches, the challenge is the same. They provide a way to share contacts, but not a way to manage a shared contact list centrally across hundreds or thousands of devices.
Large organisations want a method that:
- uses their existing directory as the single source of truth
- keeps the list in sync automatically
- deploys cleanly to iOS and Android through their MDM or management process
- prevents accidental edits from devices
- requires no manual upkeep by staff
This is the gap the Contactzilla importer is designed to fill.
How Contactzilla turns the Google Workspace Directory into shared contacts
Contactzilla sits between your Google Workspace Directory and your fleet of devices. It treats the directory as the source of truth, then publishes a controlled, read-only contact list to iOS and Android.
Before you start: Google Workspace and admin prerequisites
This setup assumes you want Contactzilla to read from your Google Workspace Directory and then publish a managed, read-only or full read/write contact list to work phones.
You’ll need:
Google Workspace admin access
You’ll be creating a Google Cloud Project, enabling the Admin SDK API and approving OAuth scopes. That requires admin-level access, or help from whoever manages your Workspace tenant.
A Contactzilla team and address book
You’ll need at least one Contactzilla address book ready to receive your Google Workspace shared contact list. If you’re new to Contactzilla, start by setting up your team and address book.
IMG – create-address-book-google-directory-shared-contacts
Awareness of what will sync from the directory
The importer will pull user records from your Google Workspace Directory. It’s worth being clear whether you plan to sync all users or filter by group, OU or query so the right people end up in the shared list.Once those pieces are in place, the deployment process flows through four key steps. For complete step-by-step instructions, see our detailed Google Workspace directory import guide.
Quick steps: sync Google Workspace shared contacts to devices
The deployment process flows through four key steps. For complete step-by-step instructions see our detailed Google Workspace directory import guide.
Step 1: Connect Contactzilla to Google Workspace
Set up the Google Workspace Directory importer so Contactzilla can read users from your domain directory.
Step 2: Sync Google Workspace directory users into a managed address book
Choose which Contactzilla address book will hold your Google Workspace shared contact list (or create a new one), set the sync schedule (manual, hourly or daily for example), and optionally add a directory query so only the contacts you want are imported.
Step 3: Create device connections for iOS and Android
Generate read-only CardDAV / mobile configuration profiles from Contactzilla for that address book.
Step 4: Deploy the profiles to devices via MDM or QR code
Push profiles through your MDM or let users scan a QR; contacts then appear in the native contacts app with caller ID on every work phone.
FAQ’s
What is a Google Workspace shared contact list?
A Google Workspace shared contact list is a central address book based on your organisation’s directory that is made available to multiple users or devices. Instead of everyone keeping their own copies, one managed list is maintained centrally and synced out so the same contacts appear for all.
How is the Google Workspace Directory different from Google Contacts “My Contacts”?
The Google Workspace Directory is a central list of all users and shared contacts in your organisation, managed by admins. Google Contacts “My Contacts” is a personal address book for one user only and syncs to their devices, not to other people’s phones.
Why don’t Google Workspace shared contacts show on iPhone and Android by default?
Because when you add a Google Workspace account to a phone, iOS and Android only sync the user’s personal Google Contacts (“My Contacts”) into the native contacts app. The organisation’s directory and shared contacts stay server-side, so they don’t appear as normal contacts or for caller ID.
How does Contactzilla sync Google Workspace shared contacts to mobile devices?
Contactzilla connects to your Google Workspace Directory, imports the users you choose into a managed address book, then keeps that list in sync. It exposes the address book to iOS and Android via CardDAV or MDM profiles, so Google Workspace shared contacts appear in the native contacts app.
Can I choose which Google Workspace users sync into the shared contact list?
Yes. When you set up the Google Workspace Directory importer in Contactzilla, you can filter which users are included. You can use a directory query to limit sync to certain groups, organisational units or other criteria, so only relevant users appear in the shared contact list.
Can I have separate shared contact lists for different teams or locations?
Yes. With Contactzilla you can apply labels to contacts and create selective read-only device connections. Each connection syncs only contacts with chosen labels, so different teams or locations receive their own filtered Google Workspace shared contact list on their devices.
