Can a User Have Multiple Distinct IDs for Different Events?

Sakir · 2025-08-19 11:05:16.286917+00

is it possible that a user can have two different "Distinct ids"? like for 5 events a Separate distinct id and for 1 event a different distinct id? or is it wrong and can cause of wrong trackings ?

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Can a User Have Multiple Distinct IDs for Different Events? | Mixpanel Community

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kapa.ai
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Hi Sakir, 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
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Yes, it is possible for a single user to have multiple different distinct_ids in Mixpanel, especially if they interact with your product anonymously (before login) and then as an identified user (after login). For example, a user might have one distinct_id (such as a device ID) for their first 5 events, and then a different distinct_id (such as a user ID) for a subsequent event after they log in.However, this can lead to inaccurate tracking and analytics if not managed properly. If events from the same user are sent with different distinct_ids and you do not use Mixpanel's identity management features (such as identify and ID merge), Mixpanel will treat these as separate users. This can cause issues in your reports, such as undercounting unique users, breaking funnels, and splitting user profiles.To avoid this, Mixpanel provides identity management mechanisms (ID Merge) that allow you to merge anonymous and identified user activity into a single user profile. When implemented correctly, Mixpanel will attribute all events (regardless of which ID was used) to the same user after the IDs are merged. This is done by calling identify() at login or registration, which links the anonymous and known IDs together in an identity cluster. After merging, any of the IDs in the cluster can be used for ingestion, but only the canonical distinct_id is used for queries and exports. For projects using the Simplified ID Merge API, the canonical distinct_id is always set to the $user_id after identification; for the Original ID Merge API, it could be either the device ID or user ID, chosen programmatically by Mixpanel and not user-configurable Identifying Users (Simplified), Canonical Distinct ID (Simplified), Canonical Distinct ID (Original).If you do not merge IDs, then yes, having multiple distinct_ids for the same user is considered a misimplementation and will cause inaccurate tracking, as Mixpanel will treat them as separate users in your analytics and reports Identity Management Overview, Troubleshooting FAQ.Best practice: Always ensure that you merge anonymous and identified IDs using Mixpanel's identity management features to maintain accurate user tracking.
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kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Hi Sakir, 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
·
·
Yes, it is possible for a single user to have multiple different distinct_ids in Mixpanel, especially if they interact with your product anonymously (before login) and then as an identified user (after login). For example, a user might have one distinct_id (such as a device ID) for their first 5 events, and then a different distinct_id (such as a user ID) for a subsequent event after they log in.However, this can lead to inaccurate tracking and analytics if not managed properly. If events from the same user are sent with different distinct_ids and you do not use Mixpanel's identity management features (such as identify and ID merge), Mixpanel will treat these as separate users. This can cause issues in your reports, such as undercounting unique users, breaking funnels, and splitting user profiles.To avoid this, Mixpanel provides identity management mechanisms (ID Merge) that allow you to merge anonymous and identified user activity into a single user profile. When implemented correctly, Mixpanel will attribute all events (regardless of which ID was used) to the same user after the IDs are merged. This is done by calling identify() at login or registration, which links the anonymous and known IDs together in an identity cluster. After merging, any of the IDs in the cluster can be used for ingestion, but only the canonical distinct_id is used for queries and exports. For projects using the Simplified ID Merge API, the canonical distinct_id is always set to the $user_id after identification; for the Original ID Merge API, it could be either the device ID or user ID, chosen programmatically by Mixpanel and not user-configurable Identifying Users (Simplified), Canonical Distinct ID (Simplified), Canonical Distinct ID (Original).If you do not merge IDs, then yes, having multiple distinct_ids for the same user is considered a misimplementation and will cause inaccurate tracking, as Mixpanel will treat them as separate users in your analytics and reports Identity Management Overview, Troubleshooting FAQ.Best practice: Always ensure that you merge anonymous and identified IDs using Mixpanel's identity management features to maintain accurate user tracking.
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.