Guide
How to merge duplicate contacts in a VCF file
Open the .vcf file in Anyfile’s contacts editor and press Merge duplicates: it finds contacts that share a name, email address or phone number, shows you the sets, and merges them keeping every number, email and address. Then download the cleaned-up file.
Step by step
Open the contacts file
Drop the .vcf on the contacts editor, or on the VCF page and choose Edit file. Every contact appears in a searchable list, with a card for the one you pick.
Press Merge duplicates
It’s on the toolbar, captioned Merge, and in the Contacts menu. Numbers written differently, like (555) 0100 and +1 555 0100, count as the same.
Check the sets, then merge
A message lists the sets it found, for example Merge 12 sets of duplicates?, so you can see who’ll be combined. Press Merge. If you change your mind, undo brings them back.
Tidy the rest, if you like
Fix a name or a label on any card, sort by first or last name, or remove empty fields. To combine two address books first, use Add contacts from another file… in the Contacts menu, then merge.
Download it
Press Download. To choose the version for an older phone or another app, open the arrow next to Download and pick a vCard version; vCard 3.0 works almost everywhere.
Contacts you don’t touch are written back exactly as they were, and in a merged or edited one, only the changed fields are rewritten. Files mixing vCard 2.1, 3.0 and 4.0 are fine. To send contacts to a spreadsheet instead, choose Spreadsheet (.csv) as the Format: it opens in Excel, though photos and rare fields are left out.
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file and makes the new one on your device. See how it works, and how to check.
Other ways to do it
On a Mac. Import the file into Contacts, then choose Card › Look for Duplicates. It merges cards that match by name and details, but only inside your own address book, which then syncs to your other devices.
Google Contacts. Import the .vcf, then open Merge & fix to merge the suggestions. Handy if your phone syncs with Google, but the contacts are uploaded to your account first.
On the phone. Recent iPhones suggest duplicates in the Contacts app, and many Android phones have a merge option in theirs. Both work on the address book, not on a file.
When Anyfile is quicker
Anyfile is quicker when you have a file rather than an address book: an export from an old phone, a CRM or a colleague, which you want cleaned before importing anywhere. If the duplicates are already in your synced contacts, merging them where they live saves a round trip.
Questions
How does it decide two contacts are the same?
By matching names, email addresses or phone numbers, with different ways of writing a number counted as one. You see every set before anything is merged.
Is anything lost when contacts merge?
No. Every phone number, email and address from both is kept on the merged contact.
Will the file work on my phone afterwards?
Yes. It stays a standard vCard file, and you can save it as vCard 3.0 for the widest support.
Are my contacts uploaded?
No. The file is read and saved by your browser, on your device.