User Identification

User identification connects anonymous sessions to known users, enabling you to track complete user journeys, analyze cohorts, and understand individual behavior patterns.

Why Identify Users?

Before a user logs in or signs up, ROAARRR tracks their behavior anonymously. Once you identify them, all their past and future events are connected to their user profile, giving you a complete picture of their journey.

Benefits of user identification:

Track users across multiple sessions and devices
Analyze individual user behavior and patterns
Build user cohorts and segments
Calculate user-level metrics like retention and LTV
Connect pre-signup behavior to post-signup actions

Basic User Identification

Identify with User ID

Call identify() as soon as a user logs in or signs up. You must pass your unique UID. This can be whatever you want to identify the user, such as an email address, a username, or a uid.

// After user signs up or logs in
analytics.identify({
  identification: 'your_user_id'
});

Identify with User Properties

Include additional user attributes to enable segmentation and analysis:

analytics.identify({
  identification: 'user-uuid-123',
  name: 'Alex Johnson',
  company: 'Startup Inc',
  company_size: '5-10',
  role: 'founder'
});

When to Identify Users

On Signup

Identify users immediately after they create an account:

async function handleSignup(email, password) {
  // Create user account
  const user = await createAccount(email, password);

  // Identify the user
  analytics.identify({
    identification: user.id,
    email: user.email,
  });

  // Track signup event
  analytics.funnel('signup_completed');
}

On Login

Re-identify returning users when they log in:

async function handleLogin(email, password) {
  // Authenticate user
  const user = await login(email, password);

  // Identify the user
  analytics.identify({
    identification: user.id,
    email: user.email,
    plan: user.plan,
    last_login: new Date().toISOString()
  });

  // Track login event
  analytics.funnel('user_logged_in');
}

On Page Load (for authenticated users)

Identify users on every page load if they're already authenticated:

// In your app initialization
async function initializeApp() {
  // Initialize analytics
  analytics.init('YOUR_API_KEY');

  // Check if user is authenticated
  const currentUser = await getCurrentUser();

  if (currentUser) {
    // Identify authenticated user
    analytics.identify({
      identification: currentUser.id,
      email: currentUser.email,
      plan: currentUser.plan
    });
  }
}

Best Practices

Use Consistent User IDs

Always use the same identifier for each user. Use your database's primary key or a UUID, not email addresses which can change.

Identify Early and Often

Call identify() as soon as you know who the user is, and update properties whenever they change.

Don't Store Sensitive Data

Never include passwords, credit card numbers, or other sensitive personal information in user properties.

Keep Properties Updated

User properties should reflect the current state. Update them when plans change, features are enabled, or milestones are reached.

Use Properties for Segmentation

Include properties that help you answer business questions: Which plan converts best? Which signup source has highest retention? What company size is our ideal customer?