Microsoft recently implemented the ability to remove duplicate contacts in Outlook on the Web and in new Outlook (note: not classic desktop Outlook). Here’s how it works:
- Exact Duplicates: If you have contacts with identical information, Outlook hides the extras.
- Subset Duplicates: If one contact is missing some info (like a company name or title), the less complete one gets hidden.
This means only the most complete version of a contact stays visible, making your contact list cleaner without actually deleting anything.
Accessing Hidden Duplicates
Those hidden duplicates aren’t gone forever. You can still find them in the Contacts folder using classic Outlook or export them for review if needed.
Deleting Contacts
When you delete a contact in the new Outlook, it also removes all its hidden duplicates across all platforms. But, if a hidden duplicate gets modified in another client, it might reappear as a visible contact.
What This Means For Us
Because desktop Outlook is not included in this new announcement, we will continue to sell and support our Duplicate Contact Remover add-in, but there will no longer be a Microsoft 365 specific version of this going forward.