Google birthdays on your iPhone

By Candelina · Updated 2026-10-19

If birthdays are saved in Google Contacts, start by syncing that account to your iPhone. Export a file instead when you want a separate snapshot to import into a birthday app.

First, check where the dates are saved

Open Google Contacts and inspect a few people whose birthdays you know. The date should be saved on the contact, not only mentioned in a note or a separate calendar event. Google explains how to save and edit significant dates.

Neither syncing nor exporting can recover a birthday that is absent from the source contact. Start with two or three known dates so you can check the result before relying on the whole list.

Option 1: Sync Google Contacts to your iPhone

1. On iPhone, open Settings → Apps → Contacts → Contacts Accounts.
2. If your Google account is already listed, open it and turn on Contacts. Otherwise choose Add Account → Google, sign in, and enable Contacts.
3. Open the Contacts app. Check the relevant account’s list and find one of the people you checked in Google Contacts.
4. Confirm that their birthday appears on the iPhone contact card.

Apple documents the current Contacts account settings; Google explains how contact syncing works. Older iOS versions may show Contacts directly in Settings rather than under Apps.

Next, open Calendar → Calendars and select Birthdays. Showing the date does not complete notification setup: follow our birthday reminder instructions to choose an alert time and allow Calendar notifications.

Bring synced birthdays into Candelina for free

Once the dates appear in iPhone Contacts, open Candelina and choose the Contacts import. Review the birthdays and add the people you want to remember. This route is free: you do not need a CSV export or Unlimited to import iPhone Contacts.

Candelina keeps its own birthday list. Importing is not a promise of continuous Google sync; check and update your list when a source date changes.

Option 2: Export Google CSV for Candelina

For a file-based import, use Google Contacts on a computer:

1. Select the contacts you want to export. To include everyone, use the selection menu and choose All.
2. Open More actions → Export.
3. Choose Google CSV and save the exported file.
4. Transfer the file to a location you can open in Files on your iPhone.

Google’s export instructions cover the selection and download steps. Keep the original export as a backup; you do not need to delete your Google contacts.

In Candelina, choose Import a file, select the CSV, and review the birthdays found before adding them. File imports are part of Unlimited; importing from iPhone Contacts is free. See the feature comparison.

Candelina reads the file on your phone. Its importer recognises Google-style dates such as 1990-05-12 and --05-12 when the year is unknown. A row needs a name and a valid birthday to appear in the results.

Already synced? You're ready for the free route.

Once a birthday appears in iPhone Contacts, import it into Candelina from Contacts. Choose file import only when you want a separate snapshot; adding file results requires Unlimited.

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If the import finds fewer birthdays than contacts

• Contacts without dates: an address book with 200 people does not necessarily contain 200 birthdays.
• Wrong account or selection: confirm that you exported the people you intended.
• Edited CSV: try the original Google export before a version resaved by a spreadsheet editor. Check that the Birthday column still contains dates.
• Later changes: editing Google Contacts after exporting will not update that file or a previous Candelina import automatically.

For an address book you maintain in Google, start with account sync. Choose file import when you specifically want to bring a selected set of birthday dates into Candelina.

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