# Related People (/docs/guides/keep-your-members/related-people)
Lots of members share a phone number with a spouse or a family member.
careCycle keeps each of them as their own customer, with their own policies,
and links them as **related people**. One person on the number is the
**primary**: the one careCycle calls and texts.
How shared numbers work [#how-shared-numbers-work]
* **Only the primary gets calls and texts.** Campaigns skip everyone else on
the number and mark them **Skipped** with "Shares a phone number."
* **Calls and texts from the number come in as the primary.**
* **There's one text thread per number,** and it lives in the primary's
Inbox conversation.
* **Do Not Call and Do Not SMS cover the whole number.** One person's opt-out
applies to everyone on it.
* **Everyone keeps their own records.** Policies, appointments, inquiries,
and notes stay with the person they belong to.
Spot a shared number [#spot-a-shared-number]
* **On the customer page,** a **Shared** badge sits next to the phone number
on the primary, and a **Secondary** badge on everyone else. Hover it to see
who shares the number and who's primary.
* **In the Customers list,** secondary people have a **Secondary** badge in
the contact column.
* **On the Related People card** (on the customer's **Overview**), you'll
see everyone linked to this person, with a **Primary** badge on the
number's primary. Each row shows the relationship, their birth date, and
whether they're on the same number. Relationships read from the person
you're looking at, so a child's record lists their mom as **Parent**.
Who can do what [#who-can-do-what]
| Role | What they can do |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Owner**, **Admin** | Add related people, change who's primary, remove links, and move policies |
| **Agent** | Add related people, change who's primary, and remove links, for customers assigned to them |
| **Manager**, **CSR** | See related people |
An agent can't make someone primary if the number's current primary belongs
to another agent.
Add a related person [#add-a-related-person]
1. Open the customer and find the **Related People** card on their
**Overview**.
2. Click **Add**.
3. Choose what this person is to the customer: **Spouse**, **Child**,
**Parent**, **Sibling**, **Power of Attorney**, or **Other**.
4. Add them as a **New Person** or an **Existing Customer** (below), then
click **Add Related Person**.
Someone new [#someone-new]
On the **New Person** tab, fill in their **First Name**, **Last Name**,
**Date of Birth**, and **MBI**. You need an MBI, or a last name and date of
birth, so careCycle can tell them apart from everyone else on the number.
They share the customer's phone number, its opt-outs, and the assigned
agent. The primary doesn't change.
Someone who's already a customer [#someone-whos-already-a-customer]
On the **Existing Customer** tab, search by name, phone, or email.
If they have a different phone number, you choose:
* **Leave the box unchecked** to link them and keep both numbers. They stay
their own primary on their own number.
* **Check "Move \[name] onto \[number]"** to put them on this customer's
number. They take on this number's Do Not Call and Do Not SMS settings,
and their old number's texts stay with them.
When a new customer's number is taken [#when-a-new-customers-number-is-taken]
If you create a customer with a phone number that already belongs to
someone, careCycle asks what the new person is to that customer. Pick the
relationship, add their date of birth, and click **Add \[name] as Related
Person**.
How careCycle avoids duplicates [#how-carecycle-avoids-duplicates]
Before it creates anyone, careCycle checks the people already on the number,
including deleted ones, in this order:
1. Their **MBI**
2. Your system's customer ID
3. Their first name, last name, and date of birth
If it finds a match, it links that person instead of making a new one.
You'll see "was already a customer, so they were linked," or "was restored
and linked" if they'd been deleted.
If the MBI or customer ID belongs to someone on a **different** number,
careCycle stops and tells you "This person already exists as another
customer." Link them from the **Existing Customer** tab instead.
Change who's primary [#change-whos-primary]
1. Open the **current primary's** customer page.
2. On the **Related People** card, click the menu next to the person you
want.
3. Choose **Make Primary for This Number**, then **Make Primary**.
From then on, inbound calls, texts, and outreach on that number go to the new
primary, and the number's text history moves to their conversation.
Campaigns that skipped someone while they weren't primary don't pick them up
on their own. Open their customer page, click their campaign badge, and
choose **Restart in Campaign** for each one.
Remove a link [#remove-a-link]
On the **Related People** card, click the menu next to the person and choose
**Remove Link**. Only the link goes away. Both people stay as they are, on
the same phone number, and the primary doesn't change. To give someone their
own number, change the phone number on their customer page.
Shared numbers in the Inbox [#shared-numbers-in-the-inbox]
* **The thread header** shows a **Household** badge when the number has
more than one person.
* **The context panel** turns the customer's name into an **On This Phone
Number** menu. Pick anyone on the number to see their details. The primary
is marked.
* **The primary's conversation** shows everyone's activity. To narrow it
down, open **More actions** and use **Show Activity From**. Anything that
belongs to someone else is tagged with their name and relationship.
* **Texting someone who isn't primary** sends you to the primary's
conversation, since that's where the number's texts live. Click **Open
their conversation**.
Move a policy to the right person [#move-a-policy-to-the-right-person]
If a spouse's plan landed on the wrong record, you can move it.
1. Open the customer and go to **Policies**.
2. Click **Move to related person** on the policy.
3. Pick the person under **Move To** and click **Move Policy**.
The policy's notes and tasks move with it. Calls and texts stay where they
are. You can only move a policy to someone on the same phone number, and not
to someone who already has that policy.
Moving policies is switched on agency by agency. If you don't see **Move to
related person**, ask your careCycle representative.
Appointments for people who aren't primary [#appointments-for-people-who-arent-primary]
You can book appointments for anyone. Just know that AI calls only go to the
number's primary. If you book someone who isn't primary on a calendar where
the AI calls the member, careCycle warns you that the AI won't call them.
Related people vs dependents [#related-people-vs-dependents]
The **Dependents** section on a customer holds coverage details for the
household members on their policy, often straight from the carrier.
Dependents aren't customers: careCycle doesn't call them, and they don't have
their own policies or inbox thread.
Use **related people** when a family member is your client too.
Bringing in households [#bringing-in-households]
* **Imports:** add a **Relationship to Primary** column and careCycle sets up
related people for you. See [Family members who share a phone
number](/docs/guides/getting-set-up/import-your-book-of-business#family-members-who-share-a-phone-number).
* **Integrations and API syncs** (HealthSherpa, Connecture, and the sync API)
don't set up related people. When they can't find someone by ID, they
update the number's primary. Add family members who come in that way from
the customer page.
Import households in one pass.
Where shared-number texts and activity show up.
Including people skipped because they share a number.