I compared two customer phone lists and numbers that are in both show up as removed and added; why?
Because the comparison respects order: it looks for the longest run of lines that appear in the same order in both texts, and anything outside that run is shown as a removal or an addition, even when the number exists in both lists. Sort both lists the same way before comparing and only the numbers that are genuinely new or missing remain.
An example of the problem
Say your old customer list has three numbers, and a fresh export from WhatsApp Business or your store comes out in a different order with one new number in it.
Old list: 0501111111, 0502222222, 0503333333.
New list: 0503333333, 0501111111, 0504444444, 0502222222.
Result without sorting: Added 2, Removed 1, Unchanged 2. The number 0503333333 shows as added at the top and removed at the bottom, although it never changed.
The tool is not wrong. It answers 'what edits turn the first list into the second, line by line?', and a number that moved from the bottom to the top really does need a removal and an addition. Your question is different: 'which numbers are new?', and order does not matter to it.
The fix: sort, then compare
- Paste the old list into the Line sorter, sort it, and copy the output.
- Do the same with the new list, using exactly the same settings.
- Open Text comparison, put the sorted old list in the first box and the sorted new one in the second, with the level on Lines.
After sorting, the old list is 0501111111, 0502222222, 0503333333 and the new one is 0501111111, 0502222222, 0503333333, 0504444444.
Result: Added 1, Unchanged 3. The only added line is 0504444444, the customer who is actually new.
Before sorting: make the numbers look the same
Sorting does not help if one number is written two ways. Matching is literal, so to the comparison these are all different lines:
- 0501111111, 966501111111 and +966501111111: different formats of one number, and the tool does not convert between them.
- A number in Arabic digits such as ٠٥٠١١١١١١١ next to one in Western digits.
- A number with spaces such as 050 111 1111 next to one without.
Pick one format and bring both lists to it first. If the new list has repeats of its own, remove them with the Duplicate-line remover before comparing, otherwise the repeated number shows up as an added line.
When not to sort
When order carries meaning. A delivery priority list, the steps for preparing an order, or the order of products on a category page: there a move is a real change you want to see, so compare them as they are.
Common questions
Does the tool keep my customers' numbers?
No, the comparison runs in your browser and neither list is sent to a server.
Will I see the numbers that disappeared too?
Yes, a number found only in the old list appears with a minus sign as a removed line.
Can I copy just the new numbers?
The plain-text result puts a + before each new number, so you can copy it and keep those lines.