What "favorite" means on your iPhone
A favorite on iPhone is a shortcut to something you use often — an app, a website, a contact, or a location. Instead of hunting through folders or typing a name each time, you mark it as a favorite and it appears at the top of a list or in a dedicated section. The word "favorite" itself means you've told your phone "I use this a lot, make it straightforward to find."
Different parts of your iPhone use the word "favorite" differently. In your Contacts app, a favorite is someone whose number or FaceTime call you can reach in one tap. In Safari, a favorite is a website you've bookmarked to appear in your start page. In Maps, a favorite is a place you've saved so you don't have to type the address again. The action is the same — you're marking something as important to you — but where it shows up depends on which app you're using.
Key Takeaways
- Favorites in Contacts appear at the top of the app so you can call or message someone in one tap instead of scrolling through your list.
- In Safari, favorites are websites you've bookmarked to show on your start page, separate from your full bookmark list.
- Maps favorites save addresses so you can navigate to home, work, or other places without typing them in each time.
- The star icon (★) is the universal symbol for marking something as a favorite across most iPhone apps.
How to add a favorite contact
Open the Contacts app and find the person you want to mark as a favorite. Tap their name to open their contact card. At the top of the card, you'll see a star icon (★) that is currently empty or gray. Tap that star and it will turn solid red, which means you've added them as a favorite.
Once someone is a favorite, they appear at the very top of your Contacts list under a "Favorites" section. You can also reach them faster from your Phone app — when you open Phone and tap the Favorites tab at the bottom, you'll see all your favorite contacts in one place. This is useful for people you call or message most often.
How to add a favorite website in Safari
Open Safari and go to the website you want to save. Tap the share button (the square with an arrow pointing up) at the bottom of the screen. A menu will appear with several options. Tap "Add Bookmark" and a dialog box will open asking where you want to save it.
In that dialog, you'll see a dropdown menu that says "Bookmarks" or shows a folder name. Tap that dropdown and select "Favorites" from the list. Then tap "Save." The website is now a favorite, which means it will appear on your Safari start page (the page you see when you open a new tab) along with other sites you've marked as favorites. You can also add a favorite by tapping the star icon that appears in the address bar when you're on a website you've already bookmarked — tapping it moves that bookmark to your Favorites folder.
How to add a favorite place in Maps
Open Maps and search for the place you want to save, or tap on a location that's already showing on your map. When the location card appears at the bottom of the screen, tap it to open the full details. You'll see a star icon (★) near the top of the card. Tap the star to mark it as a favorite.
Your favorite places are saved in the Favorites tab at the bottom of the Maps app. This is especially useful for saving your home address, work address, or places you visit regularly. When you want to navigate somewhere, you can tap Favorites and select the place instead of typing the address.
How to add a favorite in other iPhone apps
Many other apps use the star icon to mark favorites. In Music, you can tap the star next to a song, album, or artist to save it to your library. In Reminders, you can mark a list as a favorite so it appears at the top. In Notes, you can pin a note to the top of your list, which works similarly to a favorite.
The pattern is almost always the same: find the star icon (★) next to the item you want to save, and tap it. The star will fill in or change color to show it's now a favorite. If you don't see a star, look for a heart icon (♥) or a pin icon — different apps sometimes use different symbols, but they all do the same thing.
How to remove a favorite
Removing a favorite is as straightforward as adding one. Open the app, find the favorite you want to remove, and tap the star icon again. It will turn back to an empty outline, and the item will no longer appear in your Favorites section. You're not deleting the contact, website, or place — you're just telling your phone it's no longer a favorite.
In Contacts, you can also swipe left on a favorite contact in the Favorites section and tap the trash icon to remove it from favorites. In Safari, you can tap and hold a favorite on your start page and select "Remove" from the menu that appears.
Why favorites matter
Marking things as favorites saves you time and makes your phone work the way you actually use it. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of contacts to find someone you call every day, they're right at the top. Instead of typing your home address into Maps every time you want directions, it's one tap away. Favorites are a way of telling your iPhone what matters to you.
The more you use favorites, the faster you can do the things you do most often. It's a small feature, but it's one of the easiest ways to customize your phone to match your habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have favorites in my favorites?
No. Once you mark something as a favorite, it appears in your Favorites section, but you can't create a second tier of "super favorites" within that. However, you can organize your favorites by pinning or reordering them in some apps — for example, in Contacts you can drag a favorite contact up or down in the Favorites list to change the order they appear.
Do my favorites sync across my devices?
Yes, if you use the same Apple ID on multiple devices and have iCloud turned on. Your favorite contacts, Safari bookmarks, and Maps locations will appear on your iPad, Mac, or other iPhone. Check Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud to make sure the relevant apps are toggled on.
What's the difference between a favorite and a bookmark?
A bookmark is any website you've saved in Safari. A favorite is a bookmark you've specifically marked to appear on your start page. All favorites are bookmarks, but not all bookmarks are favorites. You can have hundreds of bookmarks organized in folders, but only your favorites show up when you open a new tab.
Can I add a favorite to my home screen?
Not exactly. What you're looking for is called a "shortcut" or "widget," which is different from a favorite. You can add app icons, website shortcuts, or contact shortcuts to your home screen by long-pressing on the home screen, tapping the plus icon, and selecting the app or creating a shortcut. This is faster than a favorite for things you want to reach without opening another app first.