diff --git a/src/components/DataExportSection.vue b/src/components/DataExportSection.vue
index 842b2201..b8c61165 100644
--- a/src/components/DataExportSection.vue
+++ b/src/components/DataExportSection.vue
@@ -60,9 +60,11 @@ backup and database export, with platform-specific download instructions. * *
 
 <script lang="ts">
 import { Component, Prop, Vue } from "vue-facing-decorator";
+import * as R from "ramda";
+
 import { AppString, NotificationIface } from "../constants/app";
 
-import { Contact } from "../db/tables/contacts";
+import { Contact, ContactMaybeWithJsonStrings, ContactMethod } from "../db/tables/contacts";
 import * as databaseUtil from "../db/databaseUtil";
 
 import { logger } from "../utils/logger";
@@ -72,6 +74,7 @@ import {
   PlatformCapabilities,
 } from "../services/PlatformService";
 import { contactsToExportJson } from "../libs/util";
+import { parseJsonField } from "../db/databaseUtil";
 
 /**
  * @vue-component
@@ -133,13 +136,13 @@ export default class DataExportSection extends Vue {
    */
   public async exportDatabase() {
     try {
-      let allContacts: Contact[] = [];
+      let allDbContacts: ContactMaybeWithJsonStrings[] = [];
       const platformService = PlatformServiceFactory.getInstance();
       const result = await platformService.dbQuery(`SELECT * FROM contacts`);
       if (result) {
-        allContacts = databaseUtil.mapQueryResultToValues(
+        allDbContacts = databaseUtil.mapQueryResultToValues(
           result,
-        ) as unknown as Contact[];
+        ) as unknown as ContactMaybeWithJsonStrings[];
       }
       // if (USE_DEXIE_DB) {
       //   await db.open();
@@ -147,6 +150,19 @@ export default class DataExportSection extends Vue {
       // }
 
       // Convert contacts to export format
+      const allContacts: Contact[] = allDbContacts.map((contact) => {
+        // first remove the contactMethods field, mostly to cast to a clear type (that will end up with JSON objects)
+        const exContact: Contact = R.omit(
+          ["contactMethods"],
+          contact,
+        );
+        // now add contactMethods as a true array of ContactMethod objects
+        exContact.contactMethods = contact.contactMethods
+          ? parseJsonField(contact.contactMethods, [] as Array<ContactMethod>)
+          : undefined;
+        return exContact;
+      });
+
       const exportData = contactsToExportJson(allContacts);
       const jsonStr = JSON.stringify(exportData, null, 2);
       const blob = new Blob([jsonStr], { type: "application/json" });
diff --git a/src/db/tables/contacts.ts b/src/db/tables/contacts.ts
index 147323b9..e31cae99 100644
--- a/src/db/tables/contacts.ts
+++ b/src/db/tables/contacts.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,17 @@ export type ContactWithJsonStrings = Omit<Contact, "contactMethods"> & {
   contactMethods?: string;
 };
 
+/**
+ * This is for those cases (eg. with a DB) where field values may be all primitives or may be JSON values.
+ * See src/db/databaseUtil.ts parseJsonField for more details.
+ *
+ * This is so that we can reuse most of the type and don't have to maintain another copy.
+ * Another approach uses typescript conditionals: https://chatgpt.com/share/6855cdc3-ab5c-8007-8525-726612016eb2
+ */
+export type ContactMaybeWithJsonStrings = Omit<Contact, "contactMethods"> & {
+  contactMethods?: string | Array<ContactMethod>;
+};
+
 export const ContactSchema = {
   contacts: "&did, name", // no need to key by other things
 };
diff --git a/src/libs/util.ts b/src/libs/util.ts
index 17ba3c8e..830b5750 100644
--- a/src/libs/util.ts
+++ b/src/libs/util.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   updateDefaultSettings,
 } from "../db/index";
 import { Account, AccountEncrypted } from "../db/tables/accounts";
-import { Contact, ContactWithJsonStrings } from "../db/tables/contacts";
+import { Contact } from "../db/tables/contacts";
 import * as databaseUtil from "../db/databaseUtil";
 import { DEFAULT_PASSKEY_EXPIRATION_MINUTES } from "../db/tables/settings";
 import {
@@ -966,31 +966,19 @@ export interface DatabaseExport {
 }
 
 /**
- * Converts an array of contacts to the standardized database export JSON format.
+ * Converts an array of contacts to the export JSON format.
  * This format is used for data migration and backup purposes.
  *
  * @param contacts - Array of Contact objects to convert
  * @returns DatabaseExport object in the standardized format
  */
 export const contactsToExportJson = (contacts: Contact[]): DatabaseExport => {
-  // Convert each contact to a plain object and ensure all fields are included
-  const rows = contacts.map((contact) => {
-    const exContact: ContactWithJsonStrings = R.omit(
-      ["contactMethods"],
-      contact,
-    );
-    exContact.contactMethods = contact.contactMethods
-      ? JSON.stringify(contact.contactMethods, [])
-      : undefined;
-    return exContact;
-  });
-
   return {
     data: {
       data: [
         {
           tableName: "contacts",
-          rows,
+          rows: contacts,
         },
       ],
     },