Phone CleanerClean up duplicates in the Contacts app
Since iOS 16, Contacts looks for cards that have the same first and last name and offers to merge them. The offer only appears when it has found some.
- Open the Contacts app.
- Below My Card, tap View Duplicates. On iOS 16 and 17 it is called Duplicates Found.
- Tap a contact to review its cards, then merge them.
- Or tap Merge All to merge every set at once.
Link two cards by hand
When the same person is saved in two accounts, such as iCloud and Google, you can link the cards so they show as one contact.
- In Contacts, tap one of the contacts.
- Tap Edit, then tap Link Contacts.
- Choose the other card, then tap Link.
Linking is not merging. Both cards still exist in their own accounts; Contacts simply shows them as one. When you edit the unified contact, the change is copied to each account that already holds that detail.
The duplicates the Contacts app misses
Apple's tool matches on first and last name. It does not offer to merge the same phone number saved under two different names, such as "Mum" and her full name.
Phone Cleaner groups cards with the same name or the same phone number, so it also finds one number saved under two names, and merges each set into one card that keeps every phone number and email address. Automatic Backup is on unless you turn it off, so a snapshot of your contacts is saved before a merge. You can restore a snapshot or export a copy.
Will the clean-up sync?
Yes. If your contacts are kept in iCloud or a Google account, a merge is an edit like any other, so it reaches your other devices signed in to that account.
