Users & Data

🧾 Overview

PushApp helps you understand your users by collecting and organizing their data in one place.

This includes:

User profiles (who your users are)
Events (what your users do)
Session activity timeline (how users interact with your app)

👉 This data powers everything in PushApp — cohorts, campaigns, and analytics.

👤 Customer Profiles

Each user in PushApp has a Customer Profile.

A profile gives you a complete view of a user, including:

configured profile fields
Device information
Activity timeline (sessions)
Events performed

🔄 Guest vs Identified Profiles

PushApp automatically handles users in two stages:

1. Guest Profile (Anonymous User)

When a user opens your app for the first time and is not logged in, PushApp creates a Guest Profile.

This profile includes:

Device information
App activity (sessions, events)

👉 At this stage, the user is tracked anonymously.

2. Identified Profile (Known User)

Once your app links a user ID to the device (e.g. after login or signup), the guest profile is converted into an Identified Profile.

This means:

The user is now associated with a unique user ID
Previous activity (from guest stage) is retained
Future activity is tracked under the same profile

🔗 Why This Matters

This flow ensures:

No loss of user activity before login
Seamless tracking from anonymous → known user
Better personalization and targeting

💡 Example:

A user browses products without logging in → later signs up
👉 Their earlier activity is still available for targeting (e.g. “viewed product but didn’t purchase”)

💡 Best Practices

Link user ID as early as possible (after login/signup)
Ensure consistent user IDs across sessions
Avoid creating multiple profiles for the same user

🔌 How Data is Collected

PushApp collects user data through two main methods:

1. SDK Integration (Automatic)

Once SDK is integrated:

Devices are registered automatically
Basic events (like app open, sessions) are tracked
User activity starts getting recorded

👉 Recommended for most use cases

2. Server APIs (External Integration)

You can also create and update user data using APIs.

👉 Full API Documentation

What you can do via APIs

Create or update customer profiles
Send custom user attributes
Track events from backend systems

🔄 Keeping Data in Sync

For best results:

Use SDK for client-side tracking
Use APIs for backend events and updates

👉 Combining both ensures complete and accurate user data.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Not sending important events → limits targeting
❌ Incomplete user profiles → poor personalization

Cohorts → Segment users based on data
Push Notifications → Engage users
In-App Engagements → Guide users in real time
Event Analytics → Understand user behavior

User data is the foundation of everything in PushApp.
The better your data, the more effective your campaigns 🎯