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Circle

Birthdays

An upcoming-birthday timeline projected straight from your contacts, with a look-ahead you control.

Circle on iPhone, iPad and MacUpdated 31 July 2026

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Circle reads birthdays from Apple Contacts so you can see upcoming dates in one timeline.

Circle on Mac: the upcoming-birthday timeline projected from Apple Contacts

Setting the look-ahead

Settings ▸ General ▸ Default birthday range controls how far ahead Circle looks. Options run from a few days to a year. A short range keeps Today concise; a long one is better if you post cards.

Birthdays appear on Today

This week’s birthdays sit alongside the people due a catch-up on the Today screen, because they are the same kind of information: something time-sensitive about a person you care about.

A birthday is missing

Circle does not store birthdays. It reads them. If someone’s birthday is not showing:

  1. Open the person in Apple Contacts.
  2. Check that a birthday is set on the card, not just in a note.
  3. If the contact came from a linked account, make sure that account syncs birthdays.

Add the birthday in Contacts and it appears in Circle immediately.

Keep Up and catch-ups Choose how often you want to catch up with someone, mark when you have, and see who is due. How Circle works with Apple Contacts Apple Contacts stores contact details. Circle stores the relationship settings you add. Getting started with Circle Grant access to Contacts, group people into circles, and choose how often you want to catch up with each of them.