Connect does not allow duplicate contacts. Each contact must have a unique email address or mobile number. When a new contact is created or imported, Connect checks for an existing match and either updates the existing record or creates a new one.

How Connect detects duplicates

Connect uses email address and mobile number as unique identifiers for matching. All other fields (such as name, date of birth, and address) are ignored for duplicate checking.

The rules are:

• If the email OR mobile number matches an existing contact → Connect updates the existing contact
• If neither matches → Connect creates a new contact
• If some fields in the new record are blank → existing data for those fields remains unchanged

What happens when a duplicate is found

When Connect identifies a duplicate and updates the record:

• New data overwrites existing values for any fields supplied in the new record
• Existing data is preserved where the new record has blank fields
• There is no merge history visible to users — the update happens automatically

Example

An existing contact is matched by their mobile number. The new record supplies an updated name and email, but no date of birth.

In this example, the name and email from the new record overwrite the existing values. Since the new record did not include a date of birth, the original DOB is preserved.

Tips for keeping your contact database clean

• Before importing contacts, check that your file doesn't contain records with email addresses or mobile numbers that already exist in Connect — these will overwrite existing data
• Use consistent formatting for mobile numbers (including country codes) to help Connect match accurately
• Review your contact list regularly to ensure data quality

Need help tidying up your database? See How to clean up your contact database for step-by-step guidance.