Android 17 will include a native 'Contact Scopes' feature

According to Android Authority, Android 17 will include a new permission that allows app developers to request access to specific contacts. Currently, Android takes an all or nothing approach to contacts access, requiring you to give apps full access to all of your contacts even when it's unnecessary. A new system Contacts Picker tool would instead allow you to pick only specific contacts in your address book to share with a requesting app.

GrapheneOS has had this functionality for some time now, calling it "Contact Scopes." Their approach seems to be more comprehensive than this new functionality, because it works with all existing apps. Unfortunately, according to Android Authority, Google's new feature will require apps to switch to using a new API to request contact info:

However, this new approach has one major hurdle: it’s optional. Nothing will stop developers from continuing to request broad access to your contacts anyway. For this feature to make a real difference, apps must be updated to use the new Contacts Picker. While some privacy-conscious developers will adopt it quickly, many will not.

GrapheneOS also allows for much more selective access to information within a single contact itself. For example, you can choose to only share a single number or email from a contact.

This new Android feature brings the platform up to speed with iOS in this regard. Apple released a new contact picker last year in iOS 18 that allows you to only share certain contacts with apps.