Impact of Identify on Contradictory User Profiles and Properties
after using identify what happens to user properties of the two different user profiles ? especially if they are contradicting
after using identify what happens to user properties of the two different user profiles ? especially if they are contradicting
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Based on the knowledge sources provided, I can answer your question about what happens to user properties after using the identify method, especially when there are contradicting properties between two different user profiles.When you use the identify method in Mixpanel, it links different identifiers (such as device IDs and user IDs) to create a unified user profile. However, the behavior regarding user properties can vary depending on the identity management setting you're using.For projects using Simplified Identity Management: 1. User profile properties are set directly on $distinct_ids, not on $user_ids or $device_ids.
2. It's recommended to wait until after a user is identified before setting user profile properties.
3. If you set user profile properties for unidentified users (using $device_id), these properties are not preserved when $device_ids are linked to $user_ids.
4. Any properties set before the IDs became linked will need to be set again using the user ID once the user is identified.Identifying Users (Simplified) states: "User Profiles are set directly on $distinct_id s, not on $user_id s or $device_id s. We recommend waiting until after a user is identified before setting user profile properties.It is possible to set user profile properties for unidentified users by sending the profile updates to $distinct_id=$device:<device-id> . However, user profile properties are not preserved when $device_id s are linked to $user_id s, so any properties set before the IDs became linked will need to be set again using $distinct_id=<user-id> once the user is identified."This means that if there are contradicting properties between two different user profiles (e.g., one set on the device ID and another on the user ID), the properties set on the user ID after identification will take precedence.For projects using Original Identity Management: The behavior might be slightly different, but the knowledge sources don't provide specific information about handling contradicting properties in this case.To ensure consistency and avoid conflicts, it's best to follow these practices: 1. Wait until after a user is identified before setting user profile properties.
2. If you need to update properties after identification, use the identified user ID to set the properties again.
3. Be consistent in how you set properties across different platforms or sessions to avoid conflicts.Remember that it may take up to 24 hours for ID mappings to propagate through the entire system, so you might see some inconsistencies during this period.
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