One person, several addresses
If someone writes to you from a work address one day and a private one the next, I suggest merging both into one person. I only merge after you confirm – and you can split them again at any time.
Many people have more than one address: one at work, a private one, maybe an old one from their last company. At first these are separate contacts to me. Your exchange is then spread across several cards, and the person ends up in a circle that's too low. That's why I suggest merging such addresses.
How I find suggestions
I suggest two addresses as the same person if one of these applies:
- same LinkedIn profile on both addresses,
- same phone number,
- same full name – plus either the same company domain, or one private and one work address. Two private addresses with the same name I only suggest if it's the same Gmail mailbox (with and without dots).
If more than four addresses share the same trait, I leave it out. That's usually a shared number or a namesake. Contacts you've stopped watching are not included.
The main address is the one with more exchange; on a tie, the work address.
Confirm or decline
You see suggestions in two places:
- at the top of the contact list under One person with two addresses? – hidden while you're searching,
- on the contact card as Same person? with the reason.
Merge confirms. From then on there's one card, and below the name Also: lists the second address. The whole exchange counts towards warmth and circle, and I recalculate the circles right away. If you later open the second address, you land on the person's card.
No declines. I won't show you the same suggestion again.
Splitting again
If they were two people after all, click split next to the second address on the contact card. The address gets its own card back, and I recalculate the circles.
Merging and splitting only work when you're signed in with the owner account. Anyone signed in only to a shared mailbox sees no suggestions.
If something's wrong
Merged by mistake: click split on the card. If a suggestion is missing although it's the same person, a phone number or LinkedIn profile on both cards often helps – for example via LinkedIn and Apple Contacts.