- Automatically merge duplicate contacts on your iPhone.
- Manage multiple contacts with a two finger swipe.
- Merge contacts and delete contacts with your Mac or PC.
Organizing your life means condensing the contacts on your
iPhone by weeding out the ones you’ll never use again, and merging the copies of the ones you will. As we transition to new employment, gain friends, or part with others, our contact lists take on duplicate contacts or contacts we need to delete. Here’s how to do it.
Your Contacts app can detect if you have multiple contacts running around. When you click on your **Contacts** app, you’ll notice a gray box with a message under your contact card. This message will notify you that there are duplicates. Tap **View Duplicates** to view the duplicates you have. From this screen, you can view the contacts and decide whether to merge them. To easily merge, simply tap **Merge All** then **Merge Duplicates.** Additionally, you might have multiple cards for a contact’s Google or Yahoo accounts. You can link these accounts.
If your iPhone doesn’t detect duplicate contacts, you can manage multiple contacts straight from your iPhone. With two fingers, tap and hold on the first contact. Drag your two fingers across all the contacts you wish to manage. As you drag, contacts will highlight in gray. Once you’ve selected all the contacts you want to manage, long tap on one until the menu appears. From this menu, you can choose tasks like **Merge Cards** and **Delete Contacts.**
To handle multiple contacts you’ll need to grab your Mac or PC and log into iCloud. Using iCloud to manage multiple contacts gives you further control, allowing you to select multiple connections regardless of where they are in the contact list. So grab your Mac or PC and log into iCloud.com. From your iCloud dashboard, scroll down and click on the **Contact** app. Click on the first contact you wish to manage. While holding the **Command** button on your keyboard, continue clicking the contacts you wish to manage. Once you’re done selecting contacts, you can release the **Command** button. Click on the **gear icon** in the lower left hand corner to view options. The most useful function here is the delete function.
If you are using a Mac, you can cut out the log into iCloud step and follow the same steps within the Contacts app. The only difference is you’ll need to right-click for actions instead of navigating to a separate button.
