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How do I associate 2 sets of anonymous data to the same user?

  • 16 December 2018
  • 11 replies
  • 386 views
J
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To explain the problem I am having let me use airbnb as an example. Here is my user story:

Event 1: View Home Page

Event 2: View Paris
Event 3: Select House

Event 4: Sign-up , email = jim@gmail.com -- Note: according to documentation I would alias here

Event 5: Book House


Now months later the user is travelling again. They have just purchased a new computer so they have no cookie.

Event 6: View Home Page

Event 7: View Rome
Event 8: Select House

Event 9: Log in, email = jim@gmail.com -- Note: according to documentation I would identify here

Event 10: Book House


Here is my question. How do I make sure events 6, 7 and 8 are connected to jim@gmail.com?


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Best answer by cherise 21 December 2018, 23:30

Hi @jhooey and @IvanMuniz,

As Ivan pointed out, we currently recommend identifying users as soon as possible in a session to overcome these situations. That being said, we are actively working on a way to mitigate this issue and we expect to open a beta soon.

Edit (4/25/19): We will update this thread when the beta opens. To make sure that you are notified when the beta opens, please follow this thread by clicking the 'follow' button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

-Cherise


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11 replies

I
Userlevel 3
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It´s weird to book a house anonymously because you need the email to confirm the purchase. You´ll definitely need the user to sign up at least with an email, because otherwise Mixpanel will not able to create a distinct_id


I
Userlevel 3
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More info:

https://help.mixpanel.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004497803-Identity-Management-Best-Practices


https://help.mixpanel.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004499163-Alias-And-Identify-On-Existing-Users


https://help.mixpanel.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004495783-Assigning-Your-Own-Unique-IDs-to-Users


https://help.mixpanel.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001355506-Tracking-First-Time-Users


I
Userlevel 3
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Hi @jhooey,


Maybe this helps: https://community.mixpanel.com/questions/405/track-new-and-returning-users.html


J
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I have read all those articles and that question none of them answer my question @IvanMuniz. In this example you book right after log in. but what about the events before the login?


event 1, 2, 3 are tracked as distinct_id="aaaau8yhj7n8_89yil_98u8" stored in the cookie

event 4, 5, 9 and 10 are tracked as distinct_id="jim@gmail.com", because the user is logged in
however,

event 6, 7, 8 are tracked as distinct_id="bbbbbjuiyg7_h7guy87_iuh79g" because the user is using a new device.


How do I track all 3 of these distinct_ids in mixpanel as 1 user?


cherise
Rank
Userlevel 4
Badge +3

Hi @jhooey and @IvanMuniz,

As Ivan pointed out, we currently recommend identifying users as soon as possible in a session to overcome these situations. That being said, we are actively working on a way to mitigate this issue and we expect to open a beta soon.

Edit (4/25/19): We will update this thread when the beta opens. To make sure that you are notified when the beta opens, please follow this thread by clicking the 'follow' button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

-Cherise


S
Userlevel 1
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This is a problem any time an existing user returns without a cookie set, e.g. switching devices (mobile, laptop), native apps, etc.

Definitely interested in a way to support this!!


K
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Definitely think this feature is important. We're facing similar issues using mobile application tracking right now and were very confused when the authentication events were associated with a new user (before the existing user was identified). This should work the same way as alias.


The biggest problem with the current functionality is that it can corrupt the data in our funnels. We are trying to track authentication drop-off in our application with a funnel and are seeing these "fake" users skew the data because existing user's can be identified halfway through the authentication funnel. Once we identify these user's, it looks like the "fake" users just dropped off in the middle of authentication.


H
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Follow


stephanie
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Userlevel 5
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Hi @harrywhelchel,

If you would like to be added to the beta when it opens, please make sure you follow this question - via the button in the upper right hand corner.




-Stephanie | Community Moderator
S
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Hi! Is there any update on this topic? Does Mixpanel team plan to delivery ability to link 2 anonymous sessions to one authentication account?


stephanie
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Userlevel 5
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@jhooey @kyle @stephendb9 @sviridov @IvanMuniz @harrywhelchel

We have created and Idea here. Please make sure to keep an eye on this Idea for updates!

 

-Stephanie | Community Moderator

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