Identify Users - Mixpanel

Overview

This step introduces the identify method, which allows you to see which users triggered each event in Mixpanel. It also introduces the people.set method, which allows you to define the attributes of each user.

Why Identify Users?

Identifying users allows you to:

Track user journeys across sessions and devices
Analyze behavior by user cohorts
View individual user profiles
Send targeted messages based on user properties

Code Examples

Replace USER_ID with a unique identifier, preferably the user ID from your database. Including the user’s email is also suggested, along with any additional User Properties such as name, avatar, created date, etc.

mixpanel.identify('USER_ID')

mixpanel.people.set({ 
  '$name': 'Jane Doe',
  '$email': '[email protected]',
  'plan': 'Premium'
  // Add anything else about the user here
});

mp.people_set('USER_ID', {
  '$name': 'Jane Doe',
  '$email': '[email protected]',
  'plan': 'Premium'
  # Add anything else about the user here
})

You may want to disable ip geolocation when using a server-side SDK. You can learn more in Server-Side Best Practices

// create/update a profile for user id 12345
$mp->people->set('USER_ID', array(
    '$name' => "John Doe",
    '$email' => "[email protected]",
    '$phone' => "5555555555",
    "Favorite Color" => "red"
));

You may want to disable ip geolocation when using a server-side SDK. You can learn more in Server-Side Best Practices

mixpanel.people.set('USER_ID', {
    $name: 'Jane Doe',
    $email: '[email protected]',
    plan: 'premium'
    // Add anything else about the user here
});

exampleUser := mp.NewPeopleProperties("USER_ID", map[string]any{
  "$name": "Jane Doe",
  "$email": "[email protected]",
  "plan": "Premium"
  // Add anything else about the user here
})

err := mp.PeopleSet(ctx, []*mixpanel.PeopleProperties{
  exampleUser,
})

You may want to disable ip geolocation when using a server-side SDK. You can learn more in Server-Side Best Practices

mp.people.set('USER_ID', {
    '$name' => 'Jane Doe',
    '$email' => '[email protected]',
    'plan' => 'Premium'
    # Add anything else about the user here
});

You may want to disable ip geolocation when using a server-side SDK. You can learn more in Server-Side Best Practices

JSONObject props = new JSONObject();
props.put("$name", "Jane Doe");
props.put("$email", "[email protected]");
props.put("plan", "Premium");
JSONObject update = messageBuilder.set("USER_ID", props);

// Send the update to mixpanel
mixpanel.sendMessage(update);

mixpanel.identify("USER_ID");

// Identify must be called before properties are set
mixpanel.getPeople().set("$name", "Jane Doe");
mixpanel.getPeople().set("$email", "[email protected]");
mixpanel.getPeople().set("plan", "Premium");

You may want to disable ip geolocation when using a server-side SDK. You can learn more in Server-Side Best Practices

mixpanel.identify("USER_ID");

// Identify must be called before properties are set
mixpanel.getPeople().set("\$name", "Jane Doe");
mixpanel.getPeople().set("\$email", "[email protected]");
mixpanel.getPeople().set("plan", "Premium");

[mixpanel identify:@"USER_ID"];

[mixpanel.people set:@{@"$name": @"Jane Doe"}];
[mixpanel.people set:@{@"$email": @"[email protected]"}];
[mixpanel.people set:@{@"plan": @"Premium"}];

Mixpanel.mainInstance().identify(distinctId: "USER_ID")

Mixpanel.mainInstance().people.set(properties: [ 
  "$name": "Jane Doe",
  "$email": "[email protected]",
  "$plan": "Premium"
])

// The second param is a flag for allowing profile updates
mp.identify("USER_ID", true);

// Identify must be called before properties are set
mp.getPeople().set("$name", "Jane Doe");
mp.getPeople().set("$email", "[email protected]");
mp.getPeople().set("plan", "Premium");

Mixpanel.Identify("USER_ID");

// Identify must be called before properties are set
Mixpanel.People.Set("$name", "Jane Doe");
Mixpanel.People.Set("$email", "[email protected]");
Mixpanel.People.Set("plan", "Premium");

Next Steps

Once you’ve implemented identify, it’s time to track what your users are doing in your product.

Capture Events

Learn how to track user actions and behaviors

FAQ

How do I connect events from logged-out to logged-in users?

If tracking client-side, just call .identify(<user_id>) when a user logs in and .reset() when they log out. Mixpanel will automatically stitch the user journey across logged out and logged in.If tracking server-side, check out our server-side best practices guide. For more information, read our comprehensive guide on Identifying Users.

What does Mixpanel track automatically?

Mixpanel’s Data Ingestion APIs and Client-Side SDKs automatically collect certain properties on every event or user profile update. Examples include: location, operating system, device, etc. Mixpanel calls this auto-generated data “Default Properties”.Learn More About Default Properties

How can I track in a privacy compliant way?

If a user opts out of tracking, you can call the .optOutTracking() method on any of our client-side SDKs; this prevents any subsequent data being tracked from that user’s device. Learn more here.For iOS specifically: Mixpanel does not use IDFA, so it does not require user permission through the AppTrackingTransparency(ATT) framework. For more details, refer to our Apple App Developer Privacy Guidance.

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Overview
Why Identify Users?
Code Examples
Next Steps
FAQ

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