Quick Answer
There are a few potential reasons why you might see duplicate contacts in your WhatsApp contacts list:
- You have the same contact saved multiple times in your phone’s contacts list outside of WhatsApp. WhatsApp pulls all contacts from your phone’s address book, so any duplicates there will be reflected in WhatsApp.
- You have the same contact saved with multiple phone numbers. Even if the name is the same, if the phone numbers are different, WhatsApp will treat them as separate contacts.
- Your contacts were merged incorrectly. Sometimes when syncing contacts across devices, contacts can become duplicated if the sync doesn’t join them properly.
- You have contacts with similar names. Contacts that have slight variations in spelling could appear as separate contacts in WhatsApp.
The main solutions are to remove duplicate contacts from your main phone address book, merge contacts in WhatsApp itself, or rename similarly named contacts so they no longer appear as duplicates.
What Causes Duplicate Contacts in WhatsApp?
There are a few main reasons you may find duplicate or seemingly duplicate contacts in your WhatsApp address book:
Duplicates in Phone Contacts
The most common source of WhatsApp contact duplicates is having duplicate contacts saved in your phone’s main contacts/address book outside of WhatsApp.
WhatsApp pulls all your phone’s contacts into your WhatsApp contacts list automatically. So if you have the same person saved multiple times in your main contacts list, those duplicates will be mirrored in WhatsApp as well.
For example, let’s say you have a contact named “John Smith” saved already in your phone’s address book. Then you get a new phone number for John and save it as a new contact also called “John Smith”. Your phone now has two contacts for the same person under the same name.
When WhatsApp imports your contacts, it will see these two “John Smith” entries and treat them as two separate contacts. Even though they have the same name, the different phone numbers will distinguish them as unique contacts in WhatsApp.
Same Contact with Multiple Phone Numbers
Along similar lines as above, you may have the same contact saved multiple times but with different phone numbers.
For example, perhaps you have “John Smith” saved with John’s mobile number, and also have another contact named “John Smith” with John’s work landline number.
Again, even though these are clearly the same person, the different phone numbers will make WhatsApp see them as two different contacts.
Incorrect Merging of Contacts
Many people sync their contacts across multiple devices – for example, syncing phone contacts to your Google account to view on the web.
Sometimes when syncing contacts across accounts and devices, contacts can become duplicated if they don’t merge correctly during the sync.
For instance, you might have “John Smith” saved locally on your phone. When syncing with your Google account contacts, it may not recognize this contact as the same “John Smith” saved in Google, so it creates a duplicate.
This can result in having two identical contacts after the sync completes. The sync process doesn’t always properly identify and merge duplicate contacts, leading to this issue.
Similarly Named Contacts
You may also end up with quasi-duplicate contacts if you have multiple contacts with very similar names saved in your contacts list.
For example, let’s say you have two contacts named:
- “John Smyth”
- “John Smith”
Because the names are so similar, from WhatsApp’s perspective these will look like duplicates. However, they are technically two different contacts with slightly different spellings of the last name.
Having multiple contacts with very minor variations in spelling can therefore make it seem like you have duplicate contacts, even when they are meant to be separate people.
How to Remove Duplicate WhatsApp Contacts
If you want to get rid of duplicate or quasi-duplicate WhatsApp contacts, here are a few tips:
1. Remove Duplicate Contacts from Your Phone’s Address Book
Since WhatsApp pulls contacts from your phone’s main address book, that is the first place to look for duplicates.
Open your phone’s contacts/address book and look for any obvious duplicate entries:
- Scan for contacts with the exact same name and number saved multiple times.
- Look for contacts with the same name but different numbers – these may represent the same person.
For confirmed duplicate contacts, delete or merge the extra entries:
- Delete the extra entries so there is only one entry for each contact.
- Merge the duplicate entries into one entry, consolidating all numbers under one contact name.
This will remove the source of duplicates for WhatsApp.
2. Merge WhatsApp Contacts
If you still have duplicates in WhatsApp after removing them from your main contacts list, you can merge them directly within WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp and go to your contacts list.
- Tap and hold on one of the duplicate contacts you want to merge.
- Select the option to Merge or Join contacts.
- Select the other duplicate contact to merge it into.
This will consolidate them into one entry in WhatsApp.
3. Rename Similar Contacts
For contacts that have minor spelling or naming differences, rename them in your contacts list to make the names more distinct.
For example, rename “John Smyth” and “John Smith” to something more different like:
- “John Smyth”
- “John Smith Sr.”
This will prevent them from looking like (almost) duplicates in WhatsApp and other apps.
Preventing Duplicates from Syncing
To prevent duplicate contacts from syncing across devices/accounts in the future:
- Carefully manage contacts when setting up new devices, and check for duplicates after syncing.
- Use cloud sync aggregation apps like TrueSync that have logic to better merge contacts.
- Only sync contacts one-way from phone to cloud, not two-way.
With proper contact hygiene, you can avoid messy duplicates!
Conclusion
In summary, WhatsApp duplicate contacts usually stem from:
- Actual duplicate entries in your device’s main contacts list
- Same contact saved with multiple numbers
- Incorrect merging during contact syncs across devices
- Similarly named but different contacts
Fixing it involves:
- Removing main contact list duplicates
- Merging duplicates directly in WhatsApp
- Renaming similarly named contacts
- Better syncing practices to prevent future duplicates
With some contact list housekeeping both in and out of WhatsApp, you can eliminate annoying duplicates!
| Cause of Duplicate | Solution |
|---|---|
| Actual duplicate entries in device’s main contacts | Delete or merge duplicate contacts in main list |
| Same contact with multiple numbers | Consolidate numbers under one contact entry |
| Incorrect syncing/merging | Better syncing apps, one-way sync, manual merging |
| Similarly named contacts | Rename contacts to be more distinct |