> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.flowforth.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Shared Email Addresses

> Learn how Flowforth handles multiple people who share the same email address.

Sometimes two or more people in your church share the same email address — for example, a married couple using one family inbox. Here's how Flowforth handles that.

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## Planning Center Is the Source of Truth

Flowforth syncs your people from Planning Center. If multiple people have the same email address in Planning Center, they'll each appear as separate people in Flowforth with that same email address.

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## How Sending Works

Let's say **Person A** and **Person B** both have the same email address.

* **If a list only includes Person A**, Person A receives the email. Any merge tags (like first name) reflect Person A.
* **If a list only includes Person B**, Person B receives the email. Merge tags reflect Person B.
* **If a list includes both Person A and Person B**, Flowforth sends **one email** to that address. This prevents the same person from receiving the same email twice. Since both people share the inbox, they both see the email — but the merge tags will only reflect one of the two people.

<Note>
  Flowforth automatically de-duplicates recipients by email address. When
  multiple people on the same list share an email, one send is made to that
  address and the other is recorded as "did not send" with the reason "Duplicate
  email address." This gives you full visibility into how the email was received.
  Because only one send is made, your email metrics count that address as a
  single recipient, and opens or clicks are attributed to the person who
  received the send.
</Note>

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## What About Merge Tags?

When two people share an email and both are on the same list, Flowforth picks one person's information for the merge tags (like `{{first_name}}`). There's no way to predict which person's name will be used, so the email might say "Hi Sarah" or "Hi Mark" — but both people will see the email in their shared inbox regardless.

If personalized greetings are important, you could encourage members to add their own individual email address in Planning Center.

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## Subscription Status Is Shared Too

A person's subscription status — **subscribed**, **unsubscribed**, or **cleaned** — is tied to the **email address**, not the individual person. When two or more people share an address, they also share a single status.

That means when you unsubscribe, resubscribe, or [protect a cleaned address](/people/subscription-types#cleaned) from a person's page, it applies to **everyone in your account** who uses that address as their primary or Flowforth-only email.

<Note>
  Flowforth reminds you of this in the resubscribe and unsubscribe confirmation
  windows. If you need to change preferences for just one individual, they'll
  need their own distinct email address in Planning Center.
</Note>

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## Summary

| Scenario                     | What Happens                                     |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Only Person A is on the list | Person A gets the email with their merge tags    |
| Only Person B is on the list | Person B gets the email with their merge tags    |
| Both are on the list         | One email is sent; merge tags reflect one person |

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Need help with a specific situation? Contact [support@flowforth.co](mailto:support@flowforth.co).