Offline use and what you can see
What works without signal, how the directory stays current, and why someone might be missing.
Offline
The directory in the app needs a connection. People you have already looked at stay on screen while the app is open, and a No internet connection banner shows at the top. If you open the app with no connection at all, it can’t load the list until you’re back online.
What works with no signal:
- Company contacts in your phone, if you turned them on. They are ordinary contacts in the phone’s Contacts app: you can find and call colleagues from the Phone app, and their names show on incoming calls. See Company contacts in your phone.
- Your favourites list, which is kept on the phone.
Always current
The app loads the directory from your company each time you use it, so new colleagues appear and people who have left drop off within about an hour of the change at your company. The company contacts in your phone follow the next time the app updates them.
Why you might not see someone
- Your admin decides who is listed. A colleague who is not in the directory has been left out on purpose, or hasn’t been added yet.
- Your admin decides which details show. A missing detail may be switched off for everyone, or not filled in in Google Workspace.
- New hires take up to an hour to appear.
Ask the person who manages Workspace Sync at your company; they can change it in a minute.
Privacy
Nothing from your phone is sent to your company. The app reads the shared directory and, if you turn it on, writes your colleagues into your phone’s Contacts. It looks at your phone’s contacts only to find the ones it added itself.