Manage Friends on Apple Watch: A Simple Guide

Managing Your Apple Watch Friends Circles

Your Apple Watch provides a convenient way to quickly connect with your most frequently contacted individuals. By designating a circle of “friends,” you can initiate calls, messages, and other interactions with a single press of a button.

Important Update: Please be aware that this functionality was discontinued with the release of watchOS 3.

Setting Up Your Friends Circles

When the side button on your Apple Watch is pressed, a circle of friends becomes visible, enabling rapid communication. You are able to create several distinct friend circles, each accommodating up to 12 contacts. Adding individuals to these circles can be accomplished either through your iPhone or directly on your watch.

Adding Contacts via Your iPhone

First, locate and tap the “Watch” app icon on your iPhone’s Home screen.

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Ensure that the “My Watch” screen is currently displayed. If not, select the “My Watch” icon situated at the bottom of the screen.

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Within the “My Watch” screen, tap on the “Friends” option.

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A blank Friends circle will appear on the “Friends” screen. Initiate the addition of a friend by tapping the plus sign located in the center of the circle.

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The “Contacts” application will open. Search for the desired contact you wish to add to your Friends circle. Once located, tap on their name to select them.

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The selected individual will then be assigned to an available slot within the Friends circle.

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To include additional friends, tap the small plus sign in one of the remaining positions on the circle and choose another contact.

Creating Multiple Friend Groups

It’s possible to establish multiple circles of Friends. The dots positioned below the Friends circle indicate your current group and the total number of groups you have. For instance, you might create one group for friends, another for family, and a third for work colleagues. Each group can be assigned a descriptive label for easy identification.

To label a group, tap the text that reads “Group Name” to edit it.

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Enter the desired name for your group and tap “Done” on the on-screen keyboard. The label will briefly appear when accessing the group on your watch, then be replaced by the selected contact’s name.

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We created a second group, labeled “Personal,” and added friends to it. Any modifications made to your Friends circles on your iPhone are automatically synchronized with your Apple Watch.

Rearranging and Accessing Your Friends

Note: You can change the order of your friends within a circle by pressing and holding the small circle displaying their initials, then dragging it to a new location.

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To access your Friends circle on your watch, press the side button. Utilize the digital crown to rotate the middle circle selector to the friend you wish to contact. If a profile picture is associated with the selected contact, it will be displayed in the center circle. Tap the middle circle to proceed.

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Options for contacting the selected friend will appear at the bottom of the watch screen. You can initiate a call (using the icon on the left) or send a text message (using the icon on the right). The central icon activates the Digital Touch feature, allowing you to send drawings, taps, or even your heartbeat to a friend who also owns an Apple Watch. If a friend does not have an Apple Watch, the Digital Touch icon will not be available.

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Adding Contacts Directly on Your Watch

You can also add contacts to the Friends circle directly on your Apple Watch. First, swipe left or right to select the group to which you want to add your friend. Then, turn the digital crown to select an empty spot on the chosen circle and tap the plus sign.

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Your contact list will be displayed. Scroll through the list by swiping up or use the digital crown to quickly navigate through the letters. Tap the name of the contact you want to add.

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The contact will be added to the currently selected group of Friends.

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We created a separate group of Friends for personal contacts. If a contact does not have a profile picture, their initials will be displayed in the middle circle.

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This friend does not have an Apple Watch, so the Digital Touch icon is unavailable.

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You can also add a new group of Friends by swiping left.

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Important Note: Contacts cannot be removed from the Friends circle directly on the Apple Watch. You must use the Watch app on your iPhone to delete contacts from the Friends circle.