Member Avatar for Jonathan Adrien

I am currenty working on google apps for education. We have been having a little issue with our google contacts. We would like to have a unified contacts system where everybody could view but not edit. We have tried delegating out contacts to one another but it only creates duplicates and does not delegate the tags as well. We would like to see if there can be an application thats syncs with google contacts and creates a unified contact system. Do you guys have any suggestions?

I greatly appreciate it . Thank you :)

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Short answer: delegation by itself isn’t the right way to build a single, read‑only address book for a school domain. raised the common pain — delegated contact lists are per‑user, can create duplicate entries if people also save contacts locally, and historically labels/tags aren’t preserved as a domain‑level label. ’s FlashPanel tip is one Marketplace approach, but here are the practical options and the tradeoffs to evaluate.

Delegation (Give another user access to your contacts) is designed to let specific people manage a person’s personal contacts, not to publish a single, immutable directory for everyone. Delegates can add/edit contacts and (until recent updates) mobile and cross‑service visibility was limited, so it won’t give you the “one read‑only list everywhere” behavior reliably. ()

For a true domain‑wide, admin‑managed list you should use shared external (domain) contacts — the Domain Shared Contacts / shared‑external contacts path. Those entries are created by an admin (or an admin tool) and are visible across many Google services; they’re intended for external contacts and Google warns against using them for internal user profiles because that can produce duplicates. Changes may take time to propagate, so plan a testing window. (developers.google.com)

If you don’t want to build your own API integration, consider a trusted Marketplace product that manages shared labels, permissions (including view‑only), and device sync. Many schools use apps from the Workspace Marketplace that present admin workflows and mobile sync so end users see a single up‑to‑date list without editing rights. Evaluate EDU pricing, security review status, and test in a pilot OU before domain roll‑out. (workspace.google.com)

Quick practical checklist: decide whether contacts are “external” or “internal”; avoid creating domain shared entries for internal users (use Directory API for user profiles); test a small OU; document propagation windows; pick an app only after verifying EDU pricing and Marketplace security approvals.

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Member Avatar for almuniz

Welcome Jonathan,

There is a feature-rich management and security add-on that will solve your problem. It's called "FlashPanel" for google apps. Best part is they offer EDU pricing and have great support resources that offer best practices. Have a look at the "" videos to get an idea. I'm currently implementing this for a small law firm as a cloud-based solution to contact sharing. It should work for you. Hope this helps.

Member Avatar for Jonathan Adrien

Thanks almuniz . I appreciate this comment. I am looking forward in giving flashpanel a tryout.

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