User Profiles Overview

A Mixpanel User profile reflects the most recent information about a user.

Mixpanel builds profiles by connecting information about a user to a distinct_id, which creates a location that collects current information about a user.

User profiles enable you to:

• Analyze how users navigate an application.  
• Store and update additional information about your users.

Mixpanel User profile properties contain properties that describe a user and the activity feed that displays events the user performed.

You can use the Users page to aggregate and organize a collection of User profiles.

User Profile Properties

A user profile property can be a static value, such as first name, or a dynamic value that changes, such as the date of last login or the number of times the user purchases a song.

Mixpanel requires two methods to capture User profile properties and build profiles:

1. Identify users with Mixpanel’s identify call: mixpanel.identify();
   For example, if you use a JavaScript instance to call mixpanel.identify(‘Sofia’);
   Mixpanel associates all future events sent from the library with the distinct_id ‘Sofia’.
   
2. Set user profiles with Mixpanel’s people set call: mixpanel.people.set();
   For example, if you use a JavaScript instance and call mixpanel.people.set({ "$name": name, "$email": email });
   Mixpanel adds the user name and address to the user’s profile.

You must use the identify call with the people set call to get User profile properties and set a user’s profile.

In Mixpanel, you can change User profile properties, such as a phone number or age, at any time. As result User profiles reflect the most current information about a user. Conversely, you cannot change event properties. Properties that are sent with an event never change. You can change properties in that event, but those changes won’t affect the previous instance of that event.

Mixpanel provides five data types to set a user’s properties: string, numeric, boolean, date, and list type. You can use those data types to set your own user profile properties. For example, you could set user profile properties such as: date of last purchase, number of purchases, subscription status, or total amount spent.

To learn more about event and User profile properties, see Event Properties, Super Properties, User Profile Properties.

Activity Feed

The Activity Feed displays all the events an individual user performs. The distinct ID connects the events to the User profile.

This image shows an example of a user’s activity feed. In this view, you can see the seven events that share the same distinct ID with the user, Erik Johnson.