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Households that share a phone

Two contacts on one phone number are usually a family. Review suggests merging them only when their first names agree.

On this page

Ovante treats a phone number shared by two people as a household, not a duplicate, unless their first names agree. Dana Cohen and Avi Cohen on one home number stay two contacts and nothing lands on Review. Dana Cohen and Dana Levin on one number show up as a possible duplicate.

How first names are compared

  • Ovante compares the first word of each first name, ignoring case and extra spaces. "Dana" and "dana" agree; "Dana Rose" and "Dana" agree.
  • Initials don't count. Moshe and Menachem share an M and still disagree.
  • A missing first name agrees with anything, so a contact with no first name can be suggested with anyone on the same number.

The same check applies to suggestions marked Same identity.

What you see instead

A person's page names the other people on their number under Phone, such as "Shares this number with Avi Cohen." Click a name to open that person.

Why guests don't share the buyer's phone

A named guest never takes the buyer's phone. When Dana buys tickets for Avi and Rachel, names them, and they give no phone, their tickets and contacts have none, so a buyer's own number can't pair them with Dana.

Good to know

  • When you click Not the same person on a suggestion, that pair never comes back.
  • A household number can belong to only one member's sign-in for your membership.

The rules behind this page

When
Two contacts share a phone number
Then
Review suggests merging them only when their first names agree, or one has none. A parent and child on one family number aren't flagged.
When
A guest with a name or email gives no phone
Then
Their ticket has no phone. A named guest never takes the buyer's number, so Review never flags them as the buyer's duplicate.
When
You mark a suggestion Not the same person
Then
Review never suggests that pair again.
Every rule in How Ovante decides
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Updated Oct 25, 2026

Related

Review: clean-up suggestionsReview lists the contacts that may need a look: possible duplicates, registrations that may be someone else, contacts missing an email, and answers that disagree.Merge contacts, or undo a mergeFold two contacts that are one person into one record, choosing which values win. Undo is on the toast that confirms the merge.Review wants to merge a parent and childReview suggests a merge when two contacts share a phone and their first names agree. Mark the pair Not the same person and it never comes back.A person's pageOne contact on one page: what they spent and gave, the events they came to, every registration and email in order, their membership and their details.
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