Merge Safety

Merging changes your CRM, so Dedupely gives you safeguards at every step: rules that set risky matches aside, previews before you merge, queues for matches you're unsure about, controls while merges run, and a full record afterwards. This article is an overview, with links to the details.

Before you merge

• Connecting is safe. Connecting and syncing a CRM never merges, edits or deletes anything. See Syncing Records.
• Safety Settings are on by default. They set risky matches aside automatically (see below).
• Preview every merge. Winning values show in bold in your results, and the Merge Preview column in View Match Details shows the final record.
• Test first. Do 1–2 Single Merges and check the result in your CRM before a bulk merge. On the free trial, you have 20 free merges to test with.
• Salesforce Sandbox. Test your searches and Merge Rules in a Sandbox before production. See the Salesforce Deduplication Guide.

Safety Settings

Added July 28, 2026

Safety Settings exclude risky matches from bulk selection and Auto Merge. They're in Safety Settings in the left menu, under Merge Rules. Use the Record Type dropdown to set different rules for each object.

• Records per match: matches with more records than your limit are set aside. The default is 20. Very large matches usually mean the search logic is too broad.
• Poor or example data: sets aside matches built on placeholder, test or low-quality data, like "test@test.com" or "John Doe". On by default.
• Very short values: sets aside matches built on very short values, which often cause false matches. Off by default.
• Merges that would break the HubSpot-Salesforce Integration sync (HubSpot companies): sets aside matches whose companies sync to different Salesforce Accounts. See Merging duplicates with an active HubSpot-Salesforce Integration.

Matches that trip a rule go to the Excluded tab at the top of your Duplicate Search. Changes to your Safety Settings apply after your next scan. See Excluded Matches.

Merge choices

Added September 26, 2026

HubSpot caps how many associations one record can hold, and how many times a record can be merged. Merge choices are standing answers for these situations, so you don't have to decide on every merge:

Always ask asks you on every merge. The other answers apply without asking. Auto Merge can't ask, so it skips matches set to Always ask. Merge choices also cover HubSpot parent and child companies, Salesforce records that point at each other, and retired Salesforce picklist values.

Deciding what to merge

• Manual Review: send matches you're unsure about to a separate queue, so the right person can decide. See Manual Review.
• Reject: dismiss matches that aren't duplicates, so they stop showing up. See Rejected Matches.
• Auto Match before Auto Merge: get notified about new matches and review them, before you let Auto Merge handle a search. See Auto Match.

Controlling the result

• Primary Record and field-level Merge Rules decide which values survive every merge. See Merge Rules.
• Custom Merge lets you choose each value yourself for edge cases. See How to Merge Duplicates.

While merges run

• Merge statuses show each merge as Pending, Merging, Finished or Error.
• Cancel all stops a running bulk merge or Auto Merge. Merges already in progress finish; the rest are cancelled.
• Pause or Disable Auto Merge at any time from its dashboard.

After you merge

• Merge History records every merge: the original records and the values that won. You can download it as a CSV. See Merge History.
• Treat every merge as permanent. Most merges can be undone within 30 days (see Undo a Merge); for older ones, use the Merge History CSV to restore the original values in your CRM.
• The Audit Log tracks every merge and settings change in your account, for Admins. See Audit Log.

Best practices for merging

1. Preview before you merge. Check the Merge Preview column, or run a few Single Merges, before a bulk merge or Auto Merge.
2. Build strong searches. Match on at least 3 fields (e.g. First Name, Last Name and Email).
3. Watch for large matches. A match with an unusually high number of records usually means weak search logic or missing filters.
4. Control the outcome. Use Merge Rules to decide which values win.

Troubleshooting

A match I expected is missing. It might have tripped a Safety Setting. Check the Excluded tab at the top of your Duplicate Search.

A small match was excluded even though it's under my records limit. It probably tripped another rule: placeholder data or very short values.

I changed my Safety Settings but nothing changed. Changes apply after your next scan. Click Scan in your Duplicate Search.

A merge didn't turn out as expected. Check what happened in Merge History, adjust your Merge Rules, and use the Merge History CSV to restore the original values if needed.

FAQs about merge safety

• Do Safety Settings delete bad data from my CRM? No. They only stop risky matches from being merged in Dedupely. Your CRM data isn't changed.
• Can I still merge a match from the Excluded tab? Yes. The Excluded tab is a holding area, not a block. You can merge, reject, or send the match to Manual Review.
• When do Safety Settings changes apply? After your next scan.
• Can I undo a merge? Yes, within 30 days for most merges, from Merge History. Undo is for records that weren't duplicates, so treat every merge as permanent. See Undo a Merge.

Next up

Merge History See every merge Dedupely ran, which record survived, and which values it kept. →