How to merge duplicate contacts on iPhone (preview-first)

Duplicate contacts happen after imports, sync issues, and repeated saves. Merging them makes your address book easier to use, but you want to avoid losing numbers, emails, or notes. This guide shows a preview-first workflow using CleanPro.

Step 1: Back up contacts first (recommended)

Before you merge, create a local backup with Contact Backup & Restore. It gives you a recovery path if you ever need to restore.

Step 2: Scan for duplicate contacts

Open Duplicate Contacts in CleanPro to scan and group duplicates (based on common signals like names, phone numbers, and emails).

Step 3: Review groups and preview the merged result

For each group, review fields and preview the merged contact. Choose which fields to keep — CleanPro is designed for control, not automation.

Step 4: Merge and verify key contacts

After merging, spot-check important contacts (family, work, doctors) to confirm details are correct. If you ever need to recover, restore from your backup.

For an all-in-one storage plan, see How to free up iPhone storage (contacts are a “clutter win” even if storage impact is small).