What is a Contact API? A Beginner's Guide
Published: 2019-06-05 23:34:36

In today's digital age, contacts play a major role in communication. To make a call, consumers no longer look through a 4-inch thick phonebook or flip through a Rolodex that's near a wall-mounted phone. Today, contacts are accessible digitally.
 
Developers see the importance of accessing various contact databases that customers are familiar with, which is why many rely on Contact APIs.
 
A Contact API is a tool developers can use to get their app to access and update digital contacts that already exist in another app.
 
For instance, let's say you're creating a [messaging app](https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/654-best-messaging-apps.html) and you want to give users the ability to view and alter information in their Google Contacts. Using an API like Google's Contact API, you can make that happen. To take another example, if you’re building a [digital asset management](https://cloudinary.com/solutions/digital_asset_management) application, you might want to allow users to add their contacts to projects and grant them access to media. You can do that too via a contact API.
  
For developers looking to create an app with access to contacts, here are a few options to consider:

## Google Contacts API
Using Google's Contacts API, you can build apps that access Google contacts. For instance, you can use the API to:
* Add, edit or delete contacts
* Search contacts using various keywords or search parameters
* Add, edit or delete a contact's photo

You'll need a Google account for testing purposes, and you'll have to register your project through the API Console.
 
Google also offers sample code that you can use to see how things work. Sample code is available in: Unix, Java, .Net, and Python, which can be found in the [Google Contacts API Toolkit](https://developers.google.com/google-apps/contacts/v3/).

## HubSpot Contacts API
HubSpot, a well-known marketing automation software, offers a Contacts API as well. Users build customer profiles with this software and use it to score, nurture, and connect with contacts.
 
Using HubSpot's Contacts API, developers can give users the power to:
* Add or remove contacts
* Update contact information
* Search for contacts
* Merge contacts into groups
 
Developers looking to link a new application to HubSpot can use its [Contacts Overview](https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/methods/contacts/contacts-overview) to get all of the coding details.
 
Given HubSpot's emphasis on marketing, developers will most likely be building a tool that helps users in this vertical.

## Apple Contacts
Much like Google, Apple has its own contact system. Developers may find that accessing this information is relevant to their application. Through the Contacts API, developers can give users the ability to:
* Create and update contacts
* Localize a given name
* Fetch contacts (Apple's way of searching contacts)
 
You can access sample code through [Apple's Contacts API](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/contacts). You'll also see how Apple handles unified contacts and containers, which is important to understand for the development of your app.

## Lusha
Lusha adds full contact details to existing sales tools. The idea behind Lusha is to provide accurate customer information that fuels an efficient sales process.
 
Given a full name and company, Lusha will return:
* Email address
* Phone numbers
* Location
 
Using this kind of information, sales teams can reach out to new leads, score them and nurture qualified ones through the sales process.
 
Developers looking to link their application to Lusha can check out the [Contacts API Documentation](https://www.lusha.co/docs).

## Wrap up
A growing number of apps require access to contacts, but creating a whole new database of customers or friends is time-consuming for users to do. That's why many developers turn to Contacts API to integrate their apps with existing contact databases. It's easier for the developer and a more familiar, streamlined process for the user.