What is a User?
A user is an individual that interacts with your product. In Mixpanel, each data point in your project is connected to a single user.
This article introduces the data types associated with a user through a distinct ID, the difference between a user and a user profile, as well as how users, events, and user profiles relate to the concept of a monthly tracked user.
Mixpanel connects data points to users through unique identifiers called distinct IDs.
During the Mixpanel implementation process, it is essential to maintain a consistent distinct ID for a user across sessions and devices. Mixpanel refers to this process as identity management.
Mixpanel can connect two types of data with a user through their distinct ID: user events and user profile properties.
- An event is a data point that represents an interaction between a user and your product.
- A profile property is a data point that reflects a user’s current behavioral or demographic state.
Users and Users with Profiles
A user is considered to have a user profile when there are user profile properties associated with their distinct ID.
The Explore report by default displays a list of users in your project that have a user profile. Click on Show Users to see all users (regardless of whether they have a profile).
User Scenarios
The following table shows how users, events, user profiles, and monthly tracked users (MTU) in pricing relate to each other.
|
User |
Event data |
Monthly tracked user (MTU) |
User profile property data |
User profile |
Reasoning |
|
User A |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
There are no events connected to User A ever, so they don’t count as a monthly tracked user. There are profile properties connected to User A, so they have a user profile in your project. |
|
User B |
Yes, tracked this calendar month. |
Yes |
No |
No |
There are events connected to User B where the event timestamp corresponds to the current month. User B counts as a monthly tracked user (MTU). There are no profile properties connected to User B, so they do not have a profile in your project. |
|
User C |
Yes, tracked in past calendar months. |
No |
No |
No |
There are events connected to User C where the event timestamp corresponds to past months but not the current month. User C does not count as a monthly tracked user (MTU). There are no profile properties connected to User C, so they do not have a profile in your project. |
|
User D |
Yes, tracked this calendar month. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
There are events connected to User D where the event timestamp corresponds to the current month. User D counts as a monthly tracked user (MTU). There are profile properties connected to User D, so they have a user profile in your project. |
|
User E |
Yes, tracked in past calendar months. |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
There are events connected to User E where the event timestamp corresponds to past months but not the current month. User E does not count as a monthly tracked user (MTU). There are profile properties connected to User E, so they have a user profile in your project. |
If the users in this table comprise all the data in your project, you would have 5 users, 2 monthly tracked users (MTU), and 3 users with profiles.
Next Up: What is an Event?
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