Making a contacts list
Making a contacts list
What's coming up?
Before you video chat with anybody on Skype, it’s a good option to create a Skype contacts list.
In this activity, we'll look at how to create a Skype contacts list, plus ways to find and add new contacts, so that you can quickly call people when you need to.
Start activity
What is the Skype contacts list?
The Skype contacts list is like your personal phone directory. You create a list of all the people you’d like to speak to on Skype, so that all you need to do is click on their name to start a chat.
Your Skype contact list will be the same, whether you’re logged into your account on a smartphone or computer.
Adding people from your smart device contacts list
You can use the email and phone contacts in your smart device to quickly create a Skype contacts list.
When you set up an account, Skype will ask for permission to synchronise the contact details of people in your smart device's contacts list to Skype. If you agree, Skype finds those people who have Skype and adds them to your Skype contact list, ready for you to access from any of your devices that have Skype.
Automatically updating your Skype contacts list
When you allow Skype to access and synchronise your contacts, Skype will automatically update your list whenever you add new contacts to your device.
If you don’t want this to happen, Skype has an option in its Settings that allows you switch the sync feature off (and on) as you prefer.
eSafety Tip
Allowing Skype to access and synchronise your contacts is convenient, but you don’t have to agree to share your personal data to be able to use Skype.
Instead, you can simply enter a person’s contact details manually when you need to catch up with them on Skype.
Adding new contacts
Even if someone is not in the contact list of your device, you can still add them in Skype.
If you are using Skype on a computer, select Contacts from the main menu and click New Contact. In the Search bar, type the name or phone number of the person you’re looking for.
A list of people with that name who use Skype will appear, and you can find a match by checking their location and profile image. Once you’ve found the person you want, click on Add to add them as a contact.
Inviting someone to Skype
If a friend or family member doesn't have a Skype account, you can invite them to create one so you can video call together.
On a computer, select Contacts, then New Contact, then click on Invite to Skype. Your invitation can be sent by a link, email or SMS. Choose the one you prefer, then enter the person’s email address or phone number and click the paper plane icon to send your invitation.
Fast friends
What's the quickest way to fill your contacts list?
By using your existing phone or email contacts.
Click to flip
That's right.
Skype will look at your phone or email contacts list and figure out which ones have Skype. It will then add them for you.
By typing their names into the Skype Search bar.
Click to flip
Not really.
You can do it this way, but you'll have to add people one by one.
Congratulations!
You've completed the Making a contacts list activity.
Once you've added people to your Skype contacts list, calling them is very easy. It really only needs one click or tap to start a call.
In the next activity, Making a call with Skype, you will find out how to make a video call to someone in your contacts list.