Duplicate families

Sometimes the same family shows up twice in Movo, or one family has the same child listed twice. Here's why it happens, how to stop it, and how to tidy up when it does.

Why it happens

Movo recognizes a parent by their email address or phone number. Each phone number and email can only belong to one family. So a second family usually appears when the same parent signs up again with a different number or email, like a work email the first time and a personal one the next.

A child can show up twice inside one family when their name is typed differently each time. For example, "Leo Alvarez" typed all into the first name box once, and "Leo" and "Alvarez" in separate boxes the next.

Movo checks before adding a family

When you add a family by hand and type a phone number or email Movo already has, it tells you who they might be before you add them.

When you import a list, families Movo already has aren't added again, and they aren't texted twice. See Importing a list of families.

Find both families

Go to Families and search for the family's name. Open each one and decide which to keep. Keep the one with the conversation, so you don't lose what's been said.

Remove the extra family

There's no way to merge two families yet. If the extra one has a phone number or email the one you keep doesn't, write it down first. Each number and email can only belong to one family, so you can add it to the one you keep once the extra one is gone. See Fixing a family's record.

Open the extra family, click the three dots at the top right, and click Delete family.

Confirm with Delete family. This can't be undone.

If the extra family keeps coming back, it's arriving again from a sign-up form or a list. Click Get help and we'll look at where it comes from. In the meantime, you can pause Movo for it instead of deleting it. See Pausing Movo for a family.

A child listed twice

Only the Movo team can remove one person from a family. Click Get help and tell us the family, and which of the two children to keep.

There's one exception. If Movo added the child itself after a family mentioned them, their card has a Remove button you can use. Click More on the child's card, then Remove.