What's the difference between archiving and deleting a contact?

Touch and hold a contact in Contacts or on the map, or open it and tap More (•••), then choose Archive or Delete Permanently…. In Select mode, use Archive or Delete at the bottom. Swiping a contact from the right archives it. Archiving hides the contact and keeps it and every conversation logged with them. Restore it within 90 days from Settings → More → Recover Contacts; after that its details are removed. Deleting permanently erases the contact, every conversation logged with them, and their photos, on this device and on devices that sync with it through Cloud Sync, iCloud Sync, or Google Drive Sync. It can't be undone, so WitnessWork asks first and offers Archive Instead. To delete a contact you already archived, touch and hold it in Recover Contacts and choose Delete Permanently…. With data protection mode on there's no Archive: removing a contact always deletes it. To hide a contact only for a while, use Dismiss For instead. Backup files you saved earlier still contain deleted contacts. If you deleted one by mistake, it can only come back by restoring a backup made before the delete, which replaces your current data, so create a fresh backup first. For anything else, contact support from the Help Center and leave out names, addresses, and notes.