Deleted Contacts are being added back into Marketing Cloud

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We have recently removed a large number of old Contacts from Marketing Cloud in order to reduce the billable contacts that we're paying for. We did this by using the Trash Can icon/utility in All Contacts. We did not delete the corresponding records in Salesforce (so the old Contacts exist in Salesforce, but not in Marketing Cloud).

We are syncing Contacts between Salesforce and Marketing Cloud using a Synchronized Data Source (via Marketing Cloud Connect). The synchronization is configured to sync "All Records with Email Address".

We have noticed that some of the old records that we deleted from Marketing Cloud have been re-added to Marketing Cloud (presumably by the Synchronized Data Source). Does anyone know the criteria that the Synchronized Data Source uses to sync records? For instance, if an old record has been remove from Marketing Cloud, will the sync bring it back into Marketing Cloud if it is modified in Salesforce?

Thanks for your help!

Best Answer

The sync uses the replication API and syncs based on the settings you configured. If you don't want to sync certain contacts/leads you need to configure your sync settings in this way, using a boolean field

Filter the synchronized records you choose to import using the Records Collection buttons.
To import all records, select All records.
To import only records with an email address, select All records with an email address.
To import only records created after a specified date, select All records created since and specify the date.
To use a Boolean filter to import records, select All records with and enter the Boolean value. Select an attribute, set the operator, and choose True or False.

Once you fix your sync settings you will have to delete them again within the marketing cloud

Trailhead for additional information

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