The Problem: iOS Blocked Contacts Limitation

If you've ever accumulated a long list of blocked contacts on your iPhone, you know the frustration. iOS forces you to unblock contacts one by one through Settings → Phone → Blocked Contacts. There's no built-in option to select multiple contacts or clear the entire list at once.

This becomes particularly painful if you've used apps like Truecaller that automatically add spam numbers to your block list, potentially leaving you with hundreds or even thousands of blocked contacts to manually delete.

The Solution: Use macOS Mail App

The best workaround is using the macOS Mail app, which allows bulk deletion that syncs back to your iPhone:

1. Open Mail on your Mac
2. Go to Mail → Settings → Junk Mail → Blocked tab
3. Drag to select multiple entries at once
4. Click the minus sign to delete selected items
5. Changes sync to your iPhone within minutes

For large lists (1000+ contacts), allow up to 15 minutes for sync completion.

Why This Limitation Exists

The iOS limitation is an intentional design choice by Apple, not a technical limitation. SwiftUI actually supports multi-select and bulk delete operations, but Apple deliberately restricts this functionality for blocked contacts as a safety measure.

Apple treats blocked contacts differently from regular contacts to prevent accidental unblocking of potentially harmful numbers. The individual removal requirement forces users to consciously consider each blocked contact before removing the block, prioritizing user safety over convenience.

macOS apps like Mail provide the workaround because they're designed for more complex data management tasks where bulk operations are expected and necessary.

Alternative: Long Swipe on iOS

While not efficient for large lists, you can speed up iOS deletion slightly:

• Long swipe left on each contact in Settings → Phone → Blocked Contacts
• This combines edit and delete into one gesture

Conclusion

While iOS doesn't support bulk deletion of blocked contacts due to Apple's safety-focused design choice, the macOS Mail app provides an effective workaround. This method can save hours compared to manually deleting contacts one by one on iPhone.

The limitation highlights Apple's prioritization of user safety over convenience, but clever workarounds like this demonstrate the benefits of Apple's ecosystem integration.

References

This solution was discovered through community discussions on Reddit: How do I clear all my blocked contacts?