Impact of Deleting User IDs on Associated Device IDs
What will happen to associate device ids if I manually delete one of the user ids, the user id in discussion is result of a bug and is associated with multiple device Ids
What will happen to associate device ids if I manually delete one of the user ids, the user id in discussion is result of a bug and is associated with multiple device Ids
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If you manually delete a user ID (for example, via a GDPR/CCPA deletion request or the Distinct ID Deletion API), Mixpanel will delete all data associated with that specific distinct_id (user ID). However, the knowledge sources do not explicitly state what happens to the associated device IDs (i.e., the other IDs in the same identity cluster) when you delete a user ID that is linked to multiple device IDs.
What is clear from the documentation is:
- Mixpanel deletes all data associated with the submitted distinct_id (user ID) when a deletion request is made. - If you submit an alias or a distinct_id for deletion, all data associated with that alias and the distinct_ids it maps to will be deleted. - The documentation does not specify whether the device IDs that were merged into the deleted user ID will remain in the project as separate anonymous users, or if their data will also be deleted or unlinked from the deleted user ID cluster.
Therefore, based on the available information, you can expect that all data associated with the deleted user ID will be removed, but the fate of the associated device IDs (whether they become standalone again or are also deleted) is not explicitly documented. If you need to ensure the handling of device IDs, you may need to submit deletion requests for those device IDs as well, or contact Mixpanel support for clarification.
Reference: End User Data Management: Making GDPR and CCPA requests
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Based on the knowledge sources, there is no documented method in Mixpanel to explicitly dissociate (or "unmerge") a device ID from a user ID once they have been merged into the same identity cluster. Both the Simplified and Original ID Merge systems are designed to merge identifiers (device IDs and user IDs) to form a single user profile, but there is no mention of an API or feature to reverse this association or split a device ID back out of a cluster.
The documentation does describe how to merge IDs (by sending events with both $device_id and $user_id for Simplified ID Merge, or using $identify, $create_alias, and $merge events for Original ID Merge), but it does not provide a mechanism for dissociating or "unmerging" them after the fact. The only related action described is deleting a user, which removes all data for that distinct_id, but does not explicitly state that it will dissociate device IDs and allow them to become anonymous again.
If you need to prevent future associations, you can use .reset() on logout to generate a new $device_id for subsequent users on the same device, but this does not affect past associations or already-merged clusters Identifying Users (Simplified) – Client-side Identity Management.
Summary: You cannot explicitly dissociate a device ID from a user ID once they have been merged in Mixpanel, according to the available documentation. If you need to address a specific case (such as a bug), you may need to contact Mixpanel support for further assistance, as this functionality is not exposed in the documented APIs or features.
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