vCard (.vcf)
Also known as: .vcf file, vCard file, contact card, electronic business card
A vCard (.vcf) is the standard file format for contact information — name, phone, email, and address. It is how phones and address books export and share contacts, and a single .vcf can hold one or many cards.
- Standard file format for contact cards
- Holds name, phone, email, address, and photo
- Universal for sharing and migrating contacts
What a vCard holds
A .vcf is a small text file using the vCard standard to store a contact’s details: name, phone numbers, email addresses, mailing address, organization, and even a photo. Each card is bracketed by BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD.
It is the universal contact format. When you share a contact, your phone sends a .vcf; when you export your address book, you get a vCard file containing all the cards.
Moving contacts with vCard
Because almost every phone, email client, and address book reads vCard, it is the go-to format for transferring contacts between platforms — iOS, Android, and desktop alike.
vCard files are tiny unless they embed contact photos. They are an easy, portable way to back up or migrate your contacts.