Recommendation A centralised contacts/address book that doesn't involve Google?

[teuchter]

So, this seems surprising to me but it seems that there's no easy way to have a contacts list that lives in the same place as your email - is that right?

Email lives on an email host somewhere, and then you have various clients on various devices that can access it, but the email boxes on the main host are the "source of truth" and everything else syncs via that. But my contacts are dealt with by the client apps.

When I try and find out how I can keep my contacts list available and synced between devices (for example, I use Thunderbird on my main mac computer and an Android app called K9 on my phone) most methods seem to involve using Gmail/google as an intermediary.

I don't really want Google to be the main place I keep all this stuff. Are there other simple options that I am missing?

When I look into "self-hosted" things like Nextcloud I get the impression it's going to be fiddly to set up and/or buggy in use. I do have and pay for hosting space, for my website & email but don't have the IT knowledge to do anything too complicated.

 

[A380]

Just use Google like everyone else. They don’t really want your personal data because it’s yours. They just want it as it valuable when they aggregate it across millions of people. You aren’t that important that people with 17 screens in a dark room under an extinct volcano are looking at your stuff…

 

[Silas Loom]

Or put your faith in Apple.

 

[wtfftw]

EteSync - Secure Data Sync ?

^I've not used but it's in my Moving Off Google pile.

 

[Winot]

Or put your faith in Apple.

I use Apple at home and have an iCloud contacts database and calendar but have given up trying to integrate that with my work Outlook calendar and contacts db.

 

[Silas Loom]

I use Apple at home and have an iCloud contacts database and calendar but have given up trying to integrate that with my work Outlook calendar and contacts db.

The phasing of the OP suggested that only personal contacts were involved. It was surprising to learn that Teuchter had correspondents at all, tbh, much more so that he valued some of them.

I don’t think there’s ever any kind of good way to integrate personal with enterprise contact lists, always best to manually duplicate business contacts you may someday need personally, to avoid breaching IT and information handling rules.

 

[teuchter]

Well, part of the thing I'm trying to figure out is whether I can keep my personal and work contacts tidily in separate boxes, although I suppose I'd have to work out whether there's actually any benefit in that.

 

[Silas Loom]

Well, part of the thing I'm trying to figure out is whether I can keep my personal and work contacts tidily in separate boxes, although I suppose I'd have to work out whether there's actually any benefit in that.

If you own your work contacts (ie, if you are self-employed) then you will know that distinctions between friends and professional contacts can become horribly slippery, and in many cases it would be painful and depressing to have to work out which category someone you valued really fell into.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Filofax

 

[two sheds]

Thunderbird?

 

[Pickman's model]

So, this seems surprising to me but it seems that there's no easy way to have a contacts list that lives in the same place as your email - is that right?

Email lives on an email host somewhere, and then you have various clients on various devices that can access it, but the email boxes on the main host are the "source of truth" and everything else syncs via that. But my contacts are dealt with by the client apps.

When I try and find out how I can keep my contacts list available and synced between devices (for example, I use Thunderbird on my main mac computer and an Android app called K9 on my phone) most methods seem to involve using Gmail/google as an intermediary.

I don't really want Google to be the main place I keep all this stuff. Are there other simple options that I am missing?

When I look into "self-hosted" things like Nextcloud I get the impression it's going to be fiddly to set up and/or buggy in use. I do have and pay for hosting space, for my website & email but don't have the IT knowledge to do anything too complicated.

how many contacts do you have?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

So, this seems surprising to me but it seems that there's no easy way to have a contacts list that lives in the same place as your email - is that right?

Email lives on an email host somewhere, and then you have various clients on various devices that can access it, but the email boxes on the main host are the "source of truth" and everything else syncs via that. But my contacts are dealt with by the client apps.

When I try and find out how I can keep my contacts list available and synced between devices (for example, I use Thunderbird on my main mac computer and an Android app called K9 on my phone) most methods seem to involve using Gmail/google as an intermediary.

I don't really want Google to be the main place I keep all this stuff. Are there other simple options that I am missing?

When I look into "self-hosted" things like Nextcloud I get the impression it's going to be fiddly to set up and/or buggy in use. I do have and pay for hosting space, for my website & email but don't have the IT knowledge to do anything too complicated.

Use Microsoft? Outlook on phone/pc etc?

 

[teuchter]

Use Microsoft? Outlook on phone/pc etc?

The point is that I don't want to be tied to a particular company, whether that's Google or Apple or Microsoft.

I'd like my contacts list to be provider-agnostic, like my email is.

If it's basically not really possible, then I will just go with Google seeing as I have an android phone.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

The point is that I don't want to be tied to a particular company, whether that's Google or Apple or Microsoft.

I'd like my contacts list to be provider-agnostic, like my email is.

If it's basically not really possible, then I will just go with Google seeing as I have an android phone.

Export them as a CSV?

 

[A380]

Or put your faith in Apple.

Now they probably DO have a volcano…

 

[teuchter]

Export them as a CSV?

I want something that keeps it all in sync.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I mean it just sounds like a headache and something else to manage, but I'd start here.

https://alternativeto.net/software/google-contacts/?license=opensource

 

[Crispy]

The standard protocol is LDAP
It is possible.
It is geeky and hard.

 

[teuchter]

It is geeky and hard.

Thought that might be the answer!

 

[teuchter]

Well, it seems that even syncing properly between Thunderbird and Google is not so straightforward. Why aren't contacts just part of the general email protocol? It feels like it shouldn't have to be this difficult.

 

[WouldBe]

Filofax

I was going to suggest a good old fashioned address book.

 

[kalmatthew]

So, this seems surprising to me but it seems that there's no easy way to have a contacts list that lives in the same place as your email - is that right?

Email lives on an email host somewhere, and then you have various clients on various devices that can access it, but the email boxes on the main host are the "source of truth" and everything else syncs via that. But my contacts are dealt with by the client apps.

When I try and find out how I can keep my contacts list available and synced between devices (for example, I use Thunderbird on my main mac computer and an Android app called K9 on my phone) most methods seem to involve using Gmail/google as an intermediary.

I don't really want Google to be the main place I keep all this stuff. Are there other simple options that I am missing?

When I look into "self-hosted" things like Nextcloud I get the impression it's going to be fiddly to set up and/or buggy in use. I do have and pay for hosting space, for my website & email but don't have the IT knowledge to do anything too complicated.

Who provides your email hosting they may have calDAV for calander and cardDAV these are the main comaony agnostic hosting standards but you still need somewhere to keep it regardless of how you store it.

 

[teuchter]

Who provides your email hosting they may have calDAV for calander and cardDAV these are the main comaony agnostic hosting standards but you still need somewhere to keep it regardless of how you store it.

My email and website hosting is with:

Cheap Web Hosting by HostPresto - Fast, Reliable, Secure.

HostPresto are one of the leading independent, affordable website hosts. We pride ourselves on our personal touch, with fast and effective support.

hostpresto.com

 

[two sheds]

Can you import your address book from there to Thunderbird?

 

[teuchter]

Can you import your address book from there to Thunderbird?

I don't want to import or export. I want to sync. So that when I add or change contacts in one email client, the same happens in all other email clients.

 

[two sheds]

I thought Thunderbird did that. I generally use my isp's mail inbox but when I open Thunderbird it used to synch them. Not sure that it does any more, mind, because I've not used it for a while and it doesn't seem to be showing my latest addresses.

 

[kalmatthew]

My email and website hosting is with:

Cheap Web Hosting by HostPresto - Fast, Reliable, Secure.

HostPresto are one of the leading independent, affordable website hosts. We pride ourselves on our personal touch, with fast and effective support.

hostpresto.com

Their cpannel hosting probably has a one click installer for cal/carddav although you'd have to actually ask them you could then configure thunderbird/their webmail and your phone to sync to it. This isn't as tricky as Crispy's LDAP solution but still relatively geeky and Id recommend keeping some offline backups. Ultimately one of the big cloud players like Microsoft/Google/Proton are probably easier. If portability between suppliers is your issue I wouldn't worry too much genrally contacts are pretty easy to export to csv and import elsewhere.

 

[The39thStep]

Thunderbird?

Strong drink that

 

[two sheds]

soon requiring a Thunderbox

 

[RoyReed]

I thought Thunderbird did that. I generally use my isp's mail inbox but when I open Thunderbird it used to synch them. Not sure that it does any more, mind, because I've not used it for a while and it doesn't seem to be showing my latest addresses.

I think there was a synch plugin that no longer works with the latest version of Thunderbird. But I believe they're working on adding synch to the next major update which should be out sometime in the next few months.