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The Contacts hub brings together everyone who reaches you across web chat, email, and WhatsApp so your team sees one profile per person whenever Deflect can match their identity.
Contacts page with searchable table and bulk actions

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Why contacts matter

Use caseHow contacts help
Support contextSee past conversations and tickets for the same person
CampaignsTarget the right audience for email or WhatsApp outreach
Data hygieneMerge duplicates so one person is not split across two records
CRM exportDownload a CSV for your CRM or reporting tools
When someone messages you on WhatsApp or email, Deflect can automatically link the conversation to an existing contact when it recognizes their phone number or email.

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Viewing and searching contacts

  1. Open Contacts from the sidebar.
  2. Use search to find someone by name, email, or phone.
  3. Click a row to open the contact profile — conversation history, custom fields, and merge history.

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Merging duplicates

Sometimes the same customer appears twice — different email typos, or separate web and WhatsApp identities.
1

Select exactly two contacts

On the Contacts list, check the boxes next to two records you want to combine.
2

Click Merge selected

Click Merge selected (2/2) in the top bar.
3

Choose which values to keep

If name, email, or phone conflict, pick which value becomes the primary record.
4

Confirm

The secondary contact is merged into the primary. Conversation history moves with it.
You can also start a merge from a contact profile by choosing another contact to merge in.

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Undo a merge

If you merged the wrong records, open the primary contact’s profile and use Unmerge on a previously merged contact. You can restore the secondary record with or without carrying over shared history — follow the prompts in the dashboard.

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Bulk delete

Select one or more contacts (or use select all across pages), then Delete selected. Use this to clean up test data or comply with your retention policy.
Deleting contacts is permanent. Export a backup first if you are unsure.

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Export to CSV

1

Click Export

On the Contacts page, click Export.
2

Choose columns

Include standard fields (name, email, phone) and any custom contact fields you want in the file.
3

Filter by channel (optional)

Export everyone, or only contacts with an email address, or only contacts with a phone number (useful before a WhatsApp campaign).
4

Download

Save the CSV and import it into your CRM or spreadsheet.
Contact export dialog with field and filter options

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Custom contact fields

Beyond built-in name, email, and phone, you can store organization-specific data — plan tier, region, account ID, lead source, and more.

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Create fields

  1. Go to Settings → Contact Fields.
  2. Add a field with a label (what humans see) and a stable key (used in campaigns and exports).
  3. Choose a type — text, number, date, dropdown, checkbox, URL, etc.
TypeExample use
TextAccount ID, external CRM ID
SelectPlan tier (Free / Pro / Enterprise)
DateRenewal or onboarding date
CheckboxMarketing consent captured
URLLink to customer account in your product
Built-in names like name, email, and phone are reserved — use different keys for custom fields.

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Where field values appear

  • On each contact profile (editable by your team).
  • In email and WhatsApp campaigns as personalization tokens (with fallback text if a value is missing).
  • In CSV exports.
Define contact fields before your first campaign so personalization tokens are consistent from day one.