Troubleshooting Distinct ID Format Issues for Guest Users in Mixpanel

Mansi g. · 2025-03-24 07:54:15.655046+00

What are the possible issues if we are getting distinct id in the format of 25346789 for the guest users on client side in Mixpanel?

Mixpanel is headed to Money20/20 October 26 - 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada!

Troubleshooting Distinct ID Format Issues for Guest Users in Mixpanel | Mixpanel Community

2 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Hi Mansi g., Please stand by as I search the Mixpanel knowledge base for an AI-powered answer. I normally take about 15 seconds or so. In case AI cannot answer your question, feel free to reach out to Mixpanel support at mixpanel.com/get-support. If you have follow-up questions for this thread, please tag me again with your question: @kapa.ai <follow-up question> 👋
Feel free to ask a follow-up question once I've answered by mentioning me with @kapa.ai
kapa.ai
APP
·
·
If you're getting distinct IDs in a numeric format like "25346789" for guest users on the client side in Mixpanel, there are several potential issues to be aware of: 1. ID Management Confusion: When using Simplified ID Merge, Mixpanel determines if an ID is a user ID or device ID based on its format. Numeric IDs without proper prefixing might be incorrectly interpreted, causing identity management issues Migrating to Simplified ID Merge.2. Hot Shard Limits: If many users are assigned similar numeric IDs or if you're using a sequential numbering system, you might hit Mixpanel's hot shard limits. This happens when too many events are associated with a specific distinct_id pattern, causing performance issues Hot Shard Limits.3. Implementation Issues: You might be inadvertently assigning the same ID to multiple users. For example, if your code has something like mixpanel.identify('25346789') where you're passing a static string instead of a dynamic user ID Hot Shard Limits.4. Cross-Device Tracking Problems: Without proper ID management, you won't be able to track users across multiple devices, as each device will generate its own distinct ID Identity Management Overview.5. Anonymous User Identification: For proper tracking of anonymous users, Mixpanel recommends generating a UUID and using that as the distinct_id or device_id, rather than sequential numbers Identifying Users (Simplified).Best practices for anonymous users include: - Generate UUIDs for anonymous users rather than sequential numbers - For Simplified ID Merge, set the $device_id property to this UUID - When users log in, properly identify them with .identify() to link their anonymous activity - Consider adding prefixes to clarify ID types if needed - Avoid using the same ID for multiple usersIf you're experiencing specific issues with your implementation, you might want to review your ID management strategy according to which ID merge system you're using (Original or Simplified).
kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
ℹ️ Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.

kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Hi Mansi g., Please stand by as I search the Mixpanel knowledge base for an AI-powered answer. I normally take about 15 seconds or so. In case AI cannot answer your question, feel free to reach out to Mixpanel support at mixpanel.com/get-support. If you have follow-up questions for this thread, please tag me again with your question: @kapa.ai <follow-up question> 👋
Feel free to ask a follow-up question once I've answered by mentioning me with @kapa.ai
kapa.ai
APP
·
·
If you're getting distinct IDs in a numeric format like "25346789" for guest users on the client side in Mixpanel, there are several potential issues to be aware of: 1. ID Management Confusion: When using Simplified ID Merge, Mixpanel determines if an ID is a user ID or device ID based on its format. Numeric IDs without proper prefixing might be incorrectly interpreted, causing identity management issues Migrating to Simplified ID Merge.2. Hot Shard Limits: If many users are assigned similar numeric IDs or if you're using a sequential numbering system, you might hit Mixpanel's hot shard limits. This happens when too many events are associated with a specific distinct_id pattern, causing performance issues Hot Shard Limits.3. Implementation Issues: You might be inadvertently assigning the same ID to multiple users. For example, if your code has something like mixpanel.identify('25346789') where you're passing a static string instead of a dynamic user ID Hot Shard Limits.4. Cross-Device Tracking Problems: Without proper ID management, you won't be able to track users across multiple devices, as each device will generate its own distinct ID Identity Management Overview.5. Anonymous User Identification: For proper tracking of anonymous users, Mixpanel recommends generating a UUID and using that as the distinct_id or device_id, rather than sequential numbers Identifying Users (Simplified).Best practices for anonymous users include: - Generate UUIDs for anonymous users rather than sequential numbers - For Simplified ID Merge, set the $device_id property to this UUID - When users log in, properly identify them with .identify() to link their anonymous activity - Consider adding prefixes to clarify ID types if needed - Avoid using the same ID for multiple usersIf you're experiencing specific issues with your implementation, you might want to review your ID management strategy according to which ID merge system you're using (Original or Simplified).
kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
ℹ️ Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.