Person records are merged in several scenarios:
Email address entered on multiple devices
When the same email address is captured on different devices or after clearing cookies, person records are merged to consolidate interaction history and prevent multiple emails.
Email addresses entered on the same device
If multiple email addresses are entered on one device, they are added to the record linked to that cookie. This can cause issues when separate visitors use the same device. To prevent this during testing, use an incognito window or apply Activity Blocks for customer service teams entering customer details.
Clicking a link in an email containing another person's external ID
If an email containing campaign-based ID functionality is forwarded or shared without removing the ID, the original email address is associated with the friend's visit, causing record merging.
Cached pages exposing a visitor's email address to multiple people
If logged-in customers' email addresses are exposed in the page code, and pages are cached, the same email address may be exposed for multiple people, resulting in incorrect record merging. This data protection issue should be resolved by your development team.
To manage person record merging effectively, consider using incognito windows during testing, applying Activity Blocks, and addressing potential data protection issues.