Message+ Windows 10 App Alters Device Contact List.

[dexman]

This is different! Usually I'm answering questions and not asking them .

For the longest time, I've noticed that when I give the Message+ app permission to access my contact list and then open the app, a hodgepodge of incomplete contacts will be added to the list. If I delete the added contacts, close & re-open the app, the contacts are added again.

Finally, this evening, I did the following:

. Deleted the contacts in my Google account.

. Deleted the contacts in my Verizon Cloud account.

. Deleted the contacts in my Outlook account.

. Deleted the contacts in my Microsoft Surface 3.

All of the above resulted in a blank contact list in the S3. To be sure, I closed & reopened the People app several times just to make sure the list remained blank (it did).

I then gave the Message+ app permission to access my contact list and then proceeded to open the app. I counted to 10, closed the app and removed permission to access my contact list.

I then opened the People app to see what the end result was. Lo and behold, my contacts all returned...including all of the partial listings.

I deleted the entire list and repeated the procedure... Same result.

Now, this brings up the following question....where are these contacts being stored if there are no contacts in my various Cloud accounts and on the device itself?

[dexman]

I forgot to mention, when I checked the contacts that reappeared after opening the Message+ app, each entry was generated by the Message+ contact list. None of the entries indicated that they were created by Outlook or Google.

[dexman]

Just wondering if any of the Verizon Customer Support team has any ideas as to why the app is, seemingly, modifying my contacts list with, what appears to be, cached listings.

[jav6]

I have seen the same contacts issue with the Message+ app on my Windows 10 desktop and laptop. The app apparently uses some version of the Cloud contacts list and is not synchronized completely with the Cloud and associated phone being backed up. I had done some troubleshooting with this and found it is using/creating an SQL database but tech support couldn't identify where it was built from.  My desktop Message+ app has photos and names of the contacts that don't match completely with the Cloud contacts.

[jav6]

The following thread also discussed this issue, where I found a Verizon.dat SQL file for contacts is being created on the Windows 10 PC/Laptop: Where does messages get it's contacts from on a PC?

[dexman]

It comments in the other thread leave me with the impression that the support techs do not know where the cached database is.

What isn't known is how often does this hidden database updates itself. I don't know if deleting the Cloud app from my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and then re-installing it would make any difference.

I guess, for the immediate future, I'll leave permission for the app to access my contacts disabled in my Windows 10 devices. I know the cellphone numbers of the few people who IM me, so, seeing a number as opposed to a name won't be a big deal.

All of my contact databases are corrected and matched at this point, so, any auto updates should bring the app into compliance.