s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
a lot of entries.

Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
anything similar?

--
Chris Green
·

Chris Green wrote:

> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> a lot of entries.
>
> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> anything similar?

Don't think there's a way to do it on the phone, depends how far you're
willing to bend over backwards to do it?

e.g. I export a daily XML file of my call logs and sms messages to
gdrive, you could do that, edit the XML files, wipe all call history,
then re-import ...

Am 12.07.23 um 23:03 schrieb Chris Green:
> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> a lot of entries.
>
> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> anything similar?

On my Pixel 7/Android 13 it works very quickly.
Open calls list
Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner
Choose calls list
Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".
Should work on an Android 11 as well.

--
Prudentia potentia est

Joerg Lorenz wrote:

> Open calls list
> Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner Choose calls list
> Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".

But that isn't selective ...

Am 13.07.23 um 08:42 schrieb Andy Burns:
> Joerg Lorenz wrote:
>
>> Open calls list
>> Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner Choose calls list
>> Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".
>
> But that isn't selective ...

The only selective way is one by one.

--
Prudentia potentia est

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> Chris Green wrote:
>
> > s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> > entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> > Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> > a lot of entries.
> >
> > Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> > anything similar?
>
> Don't think there's a way to do it on the phone, depends how far you're
> willing to bend over backwards to do it?
>
> e.g. I export a daily XML file of my call logs and sms messages to
> gdrive, you could do that, edit the XML files, wipe all call history,
> then re-import ...
>
That's not really time-saving though is it! :-)

What I'd really like to be able to do is to delete all call log
entries more than X days old (where X is probably about 7).

--
Chris Green
·

Joerg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.ch> wrote:
> Am 12.07.23 um 23:03 schrieb Chris Green:
> > s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> > entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> > Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> > a lot of entries.
> >
> > Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> > anything similar?
>
> On my Pixel 7/Android 13 it works very quickly.
> Open calls list
> Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner
> Choose calls list
> Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".
> Should work on an Android 11 as well.
>
Yes, I know about that, it does work on my phone. However I'd really
like to be able to either delete quickly but selectively.

E.g. either select a number of calls by clicking on them and then
delete them all, or delete all calls older than X days old.

I do find it useful to have the last half dozen or so calls showing
but the last several hundred is just a nuisance.

--
Chris Green
·

Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:

> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> a lot of entries.
>
> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> anything similar?

Are you asking the call log in whatever dialer app you are using? If
so, and using the dialer that came bundled with my phone (an LG), the
Call Logs pane in the phone dialer app can be cleared by:

- 3-dot menu: Delete, Delete all, and more options.
- Long-press on an entry: Dial, Delete call log, Delete all ogs of this
number, and more options.

I also have the Google Voice dialer app. I have to long-press each
entry to select them one at a time to then delete the selected ones.
It's a pain to trim the call log in that app. To delete the entire call
log, I have 2 methods:

- Go into the GV app's settings, Call section of settings, and tap on
Remove to remove call history.
- Log into my Google Voice account using a web browser, go into Settings
-> Calls, and click Remove to remove call history.

You mention the Android version, but not the make and model of your
actual phone. Most times the phone app is the one bundled by the maker
of your phone. You might be using the dialer app that came bundled with
the phone, or using a dialer app that you downloaded and installed.

Different dialers have different features. Alas, documentation is poor
for apps, so it is unlikely you will discover through reading which
dialer app has a delete-all option for its call history. Most times you
figure out what an app can do by discovering through trial and error in
wandering through all parts of an app, trying long-presses here and
there, digging through settings, and other manual investigation.

Some apps have contact to the app author. For example, the Drupe dialer
app has hi@getdrupe.com to contact the author. You might field you
inquiries to the app author.

Chris Green wrote:
> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> a lot of entries.
>
> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> anything similar?
>
>

My caller allows "select all". I do that and then untick individual ones
that I want to retain (usually very few).

Ed

On 2023-07-13 09:15, Chris Green wrote:
> Joerg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.ch> wrote:
>> Am 12.07.23 um 23:03 schrieb Chris Green:
>>> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
>>> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
>>> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
>>> a lot of entries.
>>>
>>> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
>>> anything similar?
>>
>> On my Pixel 7/Android 13 it works very quickly.
>> Open calls list
>> Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner
>> Choose calls list
>> Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".
>> Should work on an Android 11 as well.
>>
> Yes, I know about that, it does work on my phone. However I'd really
> like to be able to either delete quickly but selectively.
>
> E.g. either select a number of calls by clicking on them and then
> delete them all, or delete all calls older than X days old.
>
> I do find it useful to have the last half dozen or so calls showing
> but the last several hundred is just a nuisance.

I don't find it a nuisance... the first screen are the last, ie, more
recent calls. To see the rest, I have to swipe. They don't bother me at all.

Maybe if I had many calls :-?

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
> Chris Green wrote:
> > s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> > entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> > Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> > a lot of entries.
> >
> > Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> > anything similar?
> >
> >
>
> My caller allows "select all". I do that and then untick individual ones
> that I want to retain (usually very few).
>
That sounds a reasonable option, I'd go for that if my phone had it.

--
Chris Green
·

Am 13.07.23 um 10:54 schrieb Ed Cryer:
> Chris Green wrote:
>> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
>> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
>> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
>> a lot of entries.
>>
>> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
>> anything similar?
>>
>>
>
> My caller allows "select all". I do that and then untick individual ones
> that I want to retain (usually very few).

+1
This is standard.

--
Ut sementem feceris, ita metes (Cicero)

You could live your life in a way that doesn't necessitate
deleting your call history :)

On 7/12/23 14:03, Chris Green wrote:
> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
> a lot of entries.
>
> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
> anything similar?
>
>

On Thu, 13 Jul 2023 07:42:39 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

>> Hamburger menu/three dots in the upper right corner Choose calls list
>> Again Hamburger menu/three dots "Empty calls list".
>
> But that isn't selective ...

I could see many cases where deleting call logs en mass older than a
certain time period could be useful, particularly for privacy reasons.
https://www.google.com/search?q=android+delete+call+log+history+older+than+days

Hence I dug into the OP's question a little bit by testing my own phone.

It seems easy to delete ALL call log entries in one fell swoop, but when I
dug deeper, it's easy to do but everything depends on not only what app the
OP wants to use (as each does it differently), but also whether the OP
wants to delete the "real" call log (of which there is only one), or the
copy that each call log manager keeps as its own call log database.

However, there is going to be confusion on answering (& understanding) this
question because everyone is using a different dialer (& contact manager).
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=phone%20dialer%20call%20log&c=apps

The answer will be different for each & different every call log app.
https://support.google.com/phoneapp/answer/2811854?hl=en

And, the answer will be different depending on each Android version.
https://www.quora.com/Does-Android-phone-OS-have-a-setting-that-will-automatically-delete-call-logs-after-a-certain-amount-of-time-or-a-certain-number-of-calls

But luckily, everyone has the same default underlying Android call log.
https://www.google.com/search?q=where+default+call+logs+stored+android
Whose first result was this stackexchange question from 5-1/2 years ago.
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/187772/where-does-android-store-the-missed-incoming-outgoing-calls
"It's stored in
/data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/calllog.db
under the "calls" table, in reverse time order (i.e. the last item in the
table is the latest call in the log as displayed in the dialer)."

The OP's question might be answered in two ways, one of which is to modify
_that_ default call log - the other is the way he's approaching it - which
is to find a call log application which modifies its own personal database.

For example, I'm using both "Phone" (com.samsung.android.dialer) and
"Open Contacts" (opencontacts.opencom.opencontacts) for my call logs.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/opencontacts.open.com.opencontacts/

They both obtain the same incoming call log data but mange it differently.

Normally I don't even look at how they interact since both have access to
the official call log database on the phone as their initial start point.

But I just checked each, one by one, which deletes the call log entries
differently. A quick search shows what the OP wants "may" exist out there.
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/67049/delete-call-logs-more-than-5-days-old

In my OpenContacts, you open to the "CALL LOG" tab by default, and then you
long press on one contact and up pops a context menu which has a selection
to "Delete" or "Delete Multiple" (among others). If you select to delete
multiple entries, they turn bright orange as you tap them, one by one. You
can't sweep though, nor can you say to delete all that are 7 days old.

In "Phone" (note there are others with the same green icon such as "Phone
calls" (com.android.server.telecom) & "Phone services" (com.android.phone)
you can long press on a call log entry and then at the left is a green
checkmark inside an otherwise empty circle next to it. Each call log entry
has that empty circle which you can tap one by one and then, when you're
done selecting the call logs one by one, you press the "Delete" trashcan
icon at the bottom of the screen.

As with OpenContacts' call log, you can't sweep, nor do I see any option to
auto delete after 7 days but com.android.server.telecom has an "All" button
at the top, which, if selected, will select all the entries (where you can
unselect those you do not wish to delete).

Since it's a group effort maybe the OP can file an enhancement request?
https://gitlab.com/sultanahamer/OpenContacts

After looking for a few minutes, I think what the OP wants probably exists.
But the OP will have to find a different call log app that does it for him.
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=delete%20old%20call%20logs&c=apps

For example the "Simple Dialer" description says it does something similar.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.dialer
"Call log entries can be removed either one by one, but it can also be
cleared out at once."

Notice the first entry in that search implies that the call logs aren't
actually deleted from the main Android database for call logs.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.log.deletedcalls
"The app will tell you if you have deleted calls in the phone call log."

I guess the real question needs to be re-focused by the OP in whether he
wants to modify the "real" Android underlying call log database or if he
only wants to find any call log application that modifies its own database.
https://www.wideanglesoftware.com/blog/android-call-history.php

Joerg Lorenz wrote:
> Am 13.07.23 um 10:54 schrieb Ed Cryer:
>> Chris Green wrote:
>>> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
>>> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
>>> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
>>> a lot of entries.
>>>
>>> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
>>> anything similar?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> My caller allows "select all". I do that and then untick individual ones
>> that I want to retain (usually very few).
>
> +1
> This is standard.
>

The only one I usually retain is a local taxi firm.

Ed

--
Sementem feci, messui, monstra et foeditates me obruerunt. (Edus Anglicus)

Am 13.07.23 um 20:21 schrieb Ed Cryer:
> Joerg Lorenz wrote:
>> Am 13.07.23 um 10:54 schrieb Ed Cryer:
>>> Chris Green wrote:
>>>> s per the subject, on Android 11, is there a quick way to delete
>>>> entries from the calls list? Having to 'press and hold' then select
>>>> Delete and then select Delete again makes it very laborious to delete
>>>> a lot of entries.
>>>>
>>>> Is there no way to select more than one entry and then bulk delete, or
>>>> anything similar?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> My caller allows "select all". I do that and then untick individual ones
>>> that I want to retain (usually very few).
>>
>> +1
>> This is standard.
>>
>
> The only one I usually retain is a local taxi firm.

:-D

--
Prudentia potentia est