> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msgcompanion.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contacts

> Your customer list: what a contact holds, finding people, and adding, editing, merging and erasing them.

**Contacts** holds everyone who has messaged you, the customers of your connected shop, and anyone you have imported or added by hand.

<Note>
  Owners, admins and managers can open Contacts. Only owners and admins can change the list. Reps do not see Contacts, and reach customers through their own conversations.
</Note>

## Who can do what

| | Owner and admin | Manager | Rep |
| - | - | - | - |
| See and search contacts | Yes | Yes | No |
| Opt a contact out of marketing, or back in | Yes | Yes | No |
| Add, edit and tag contacts | Yes | No | No |
| Import, export and sync | Yes | No | No |
| Merge and erase contacts | Yes | No | No |

## What a contact holds

* A name, a phone number and an email address. A contact needs a phone number or an email. Someone with no phone number cannot be sent WhatsApp messages.
* **Notes**, which only your team sees.
* **Tags**, up to 20 on a contact.
* Whether they have opted out of marketing. See [Opt-outs](/contacts/opt-outs).
* Their conversations, with a link to each.
* Where they came from.

One person is one contact, however many ways they reached you.

## Where contacts come from

The **From** column shows a contact's sources. A contact can have several.

| Source | How they got there |
| - | - |
| **Messaged in** | They wrote to you. Everyone who messages you is added automatically. |
| The name of your shop system | They are a customer in a shop you connected. See [Sync from your shop](/contacts/sync-from-your-shop). |
| **Imported** | They were on a spreadsheet you uploaded. See [Import and export](/contacts/import-and-export). |
| **Added by hand** | Someone on your team added them. |

## Search and filter

Type in the search box to find someone by name, number or email.

Use the filters beside it to narrow the list. You can combine them.

* **Where they came from**: one source, or one named import.
* **Tag**: contacts carrying a tag.
* **Last activity**: active in the last 7, 30 or 90 days, or never messaged.
* **Marketing**: everyone, or only people who opted out.
* **Sort**: most recent first, or name from A to Z.

The **Tags** column also shows tags from a contact's conversations.

## Add a contact

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the form">
    Go to **Contacts** and choose **Add contact**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter their details">
    Enter a **Phone number**, an **Email**, or both. Start a UK mobile with 07, or include the country code. **Name**, **Tags** and **Notes** are optional.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Choose **Add contact**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Adding someone does not mean they have agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. Invite them to message you first.

## Edit and tag a contact

Select a contact to open their details. Change the **Name**, **Email** or **Notes**, or add and remove **Tags**.

To tag several people at once, tick their rows, choose **Add or remove a tag**, and enter the tag. Tags can be used to choose who a broadcast goes to.

## Merge two contacts

Use this when one person has two records, for example two phone numbers.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open one of the two contacts">
    Select the contact, then choose **Merge with another contact**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the other one">
    Search by name, number or email and select the other record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose which to keep">
    Pick the contact to keep, then choose **Merge contacts**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Both numbers and every conversation end up on the contact you keep. Blank details are filled in from the other record, and tags are combined. An opt-out on either one carries over.

<Warning>
  A merge cannot be undone.
</Warning>

## Erase a contact

Erasing is for when a customer asks you to delete what you hold about them.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the contact">
    Select the contact and choose **Erase contact**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    Type `ERASE` and choose **Erase for good**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To erase several people, tick their rows and choose **Erase**. You can erase up to 100 at a time.

<Warning>
  Erasing cannot be undone. The contact's conversations, messages, notes and bookings are removed for good, on every number they have.
</Warning>

If the contact had opted out of marketing, Companion remembers that. They stay opted out if they are ever imported, synced or added again.

A customer who writes to you after being erased starts a new conversation.

<Tip>
  Deleting a conversation from the inbox is not the same as erasing. It only tidies the inbox. Use **Erase contact** for a deletion request.
</Tip>

## Related

* [Import and export](/contacts/import-and-export)
* [Sync from your shop](/contacts/sync-from-your-shop)
* [Opt-outs](/contacts/opt-outs)
* [Audiences](/broadcasts/audiences)
* [Roles](/team/roles)


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