In ActiveCampaign, phone-only contacts allow you to create and manage contacts by phone number. In other words, you can create contacts using a phone number as the primary unique identifier. Phone-only contacts offer increased flexibility in contact management by allowing you to create contacts using only a phone number, only an email address, or both.
Take Note
- Enabling the phone-only contacts feature is permanent and cannot be reversed
- Only Admins can enable the phone-only contacts feature
- Phone-only contacts are not supported in the Salesforce Integration, Microsoft Dynamics Integration, Zapier, and existing CX Apps
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Why use phone-only contacts?
Phone-only contacts is designed for businesses aiming to improve customer engagement through SMS and other mobile messaging channels. With it, you can:
- Reach More Customers: Connect with businesses that focus on mobile communication, and boost engagement through texts and WhatsApp
- Easy Sign-Up: Contacts can join without needing an email address, making it easier for them to get started
How phone-only contacts work
When you enable phone-only contacts, a phone number can serve as the sole primary unique identifier for a contact record. You can create contacts using a phone number only, an email address only, or both a phone number and an email address.
How to create phone-only contacts:
When creating phone-only contacts with phone-only forms, the following workflows apply:
| Scenario | Expected Behavior |
| Contact enters a new phone number that is not an exact match in your ActiveCampaign account. | A new contact is created. |
| Contact enters a phone number that is an exact match in your ActiveCampaign account, but the contact record does not have an email address. | The existing contact record will be updated. |
| Contact enters a phone number that is an exact match in your ActiveCampaign account, and the existing contact record also has an email address. | A new phone-only contact will be created. |
| Contact enters a new email address with a phone number that exactly matches an existing contact record in your ActiveCampaign account, but the existing contact record does not have an email address. | A new contact is created. |
Duplicates
You may come across duplicate contacts when using phone-only forms if phone numbers are entered in different formats or if the number matches a contact that already has an email address associated with it. To mitigate this, it is best practice to use consistent phone number formatting. Only exact matches are recognized as the same contact.
If duplicate contacts happen, we recommend merging contacts to consolidate.
Phone Number Formatting (E.164)
To maintain data integrity for phone numbers, it is best practice to use the E.164 format (for example, +1234567890). To help with this, we have a country code dropdown in forms, so you can ensure that the phone number is formatted correctly. This guideline applies to both the creation of new contacts and the contact import process.
Learn more about E.164 formatting phone field validation.
Active contacts
An active contact is defined as a contact who is subscribed to either an email or SMS list, has not opted out or bounced, and can receive marketing messages via email or SMS.
Learn more about contact list statuses.
How to enable phone-only contacts
The availability and default settings of phone-only contacts will depend on your account's current configuration:
Automatic Enablement
If your account includes the WhatsApp add-on, phone-only contacts will be enabled by default.
Manual Opt-In
For accounts without the WhatsApp add-ons, phone-only contacts will be off by default. Account Admins must enable this feature manually:
To enable manual opt-in accounts:
- Ensure you are an Admin of the ActiveCampaign account.
- Click Settings > Advanced on the left menu.
- Under “Phone only contacts,” click the "Create contacts with a phone number" toggle to enable it.
Enabling the phone-only contacts feature is permanent and cannot be reversed.