Connecting your Google account is a critical step baked into the setup process for any new Android device, and with good reason. Logging in is the quickest way to start loading a new phone with you information, preferences, and even some app data. Google synchronizes contacts saved to your account as a part of this process, through the Google Contacts app. But now we're learning about a change to sync settings behavior, such that some contacts may be removed if you later turn sync off.

Setting up your contacts through manual file imports is blessedly a thing of the past, but for whatever reason, not everyone is going to want to keep sync turned on, all the time. So far, when users turned off syncs for contacts, their Google accounts would simply stop updating that list over the cloud between linked devices. However, the May 2023 Google Play System Update changes things up a bit, and now previously synced contacts will be removed from the device when sync is turned off (via Android Authority).

This change to sync settings sounds like it should make it easy to maintain two separate contact lists on different phones, while still sharing the same account. That could be useful when you’re setting up a work phone, but want to avoid adding work contacts to your personal Google account, despite needing the account for other apps on the device, like Gmail or fitness tracking for the cafeteria-to-desk sprints.

However, we can also see how it can be a problem to have contacts vanish completely if you turn off Google Contacts sync by accident. In case that happens, it’s quite an easy fix, with you just needing to access the toggle under Settings > Passwords & accounts > your Google account > Account Sync > Contacts, and ensure it's turned on. If you ever switch it off by accident, don't panic, because your contacts are still safe in the cloud. To avoid even that scare, you could also back up your contacts to local storage periodically.

The new Google Contacts sync behavior should be a pleasant change for the technically adept, but could be a cause for undue alarm if you weren't aware of the new behavior. Of course, you can avoid the consequences of this change entirely by just leaving sync turned on.