Whatfix uses the following two methods to identify users:      

        Anonymized Whatfix ID      

        Consider a user accessing the application for the first time.      

•             Whatfix generates a unique identifier called the Anonymized               Whatfix ID when the user logs in for the first time.                      

•             The ID is randomly generated and consists of a 16 character               alphanumeric string, for example, 6idAi0oqW4sIPPFf.                      

•             The Anonymized Whatfix ID enables anonymous tracking before the               user is identified with a configured User ID.                      

•             The ID is stored in the browser’s               to identify the user when they access the application later. The               ID is stored in the key, wfx_unq, in the browser’s local               storage.          

            Note:          

          Whatfix may create a new Anonymized Whatfix ID for the same user             due to one of the following reasons:        

•               The user clears cookies and local storage, removing the                 existing Anonymized Whatfix ID.            

•               The organization’s IT team periodically clears the browser’s                 local storage due to IT policy, removing the existing Anonymized                 Whatfix ID.            

•               If the user accesses the application in incognito mode, Whatfix                 cannot use the pre-existing local storage to identify the user                 and, therefore, it generates a new Anonymized Whatfix ID. This                 incognito local storage also clears when the user closes the                 incognito browser window, resulting in the loss of the generated                 ID.            

•               The user accesses the application using a different browser or                 device that was not previously used, generating a new Anonymized                 Whatfix ID for the new browser or device.            

•               The underlying application clears the local storage, removing                 the existing Anonymized Whatfix ID.            

        User ID      

•             Whatfix also uses User IDs to uniquely identify users within an               application.                      

•             Configure User IDs to be picked from the application or use the               user information stored in the organization’s               to uniquely identify users in an application. For more               information, see Configure Custom User Identification Rules.          

•             To ensure accurate tracking, the User ID must remain unchanged               when the user interacts with an application.          

•             Different applications may or may not have the same User ID.               However, Whatfix requires the same User IDs to be available across               applications to track users and analyze their behavior on various               applications.          

        The following are the two ways in which User IDs can be           configured:      

        Configure custom User Identification Rules:      

        If your application captures user information through the login           status, Whatfix enables you to configure custom User Identification           Rules using the Whatfix user interface (UI) in Advanced Customization           without using code.      

        For more information, see Configure User Identification Rules.      

            Note:          

•               If you've used Advanced Customization (AC) code to set up User                 identification, Whatfix recommends removing the AC code after                 setting up User identification rules using the Whatfix UI.            

•               If User identification is configured using both the AC code and                 the Whatfix UI, the AC code takes precedence over the UI                 configuration.            

        Configure User Identification using SSO:      

        Whatfix supports End User Authentication, wherein end users authenticate with valid credentials using their           organization’s SSO before accessing Whatfix content.      

        Use the same user information stored by Single Sign-On (SSO)           providers as unique user identifiers. This ensures that all end users           possess a unique identifier across multiple applications for accurate           identification. For more information on enabling User Identification           using SSO, contact support@whatfix.com.      

            Note:          

          If you've used Advanced Customization (AC) code to set up User             identification, Whatfix recommends removing the AC code after             setting up User identification rules using the Whatfix UI.        

          If User identification is configured using both the AC code and the             Whatfix UI, the AC code takes precedence over the UI             configuration.        

        Consider a user accessing an application for the first time, and           Whatfix is unable to identify the user or map them to a User ID           initially. The user logs in a second time. How does Whatfix identify           this user and track their behavior across sessions within the           application?      

Note:

          A session usually starts when a user accesses the site and ends             when the user leaves or is inactive for more than 30 minutes.        

        In this scenario, Whatfix uses User Unification to merge the user’s           engagement data from different sessions if it cannot identify the user           initially. This mechanism ensures that the user’s engagement within           the application during different sessions maps to a User ID, even if           they log in anonymously with Whatfix initially.      

        What happens when User Unification is enabled:      

•             Whatfix maps the user’s engagement events to an Anonymized               Whatfix ID if the user is initially unidentified.          

•             If Whatfix identifies the user later, it maps only the subsequent               end-user engagement events to the User ID.          

        What happens when User Unification is not enabled:      

        If Whatfix tracks a user initially using an Anonymized Whatfix ID and           later identifies the user with a User ID, it maps all the past and           future recorded engagement data tracked using the Anonymized Whatfix           ID to the identified User ID. The process ensures that all behavioral           data, including past anonymous engagements are merged and mapped to a           single user.      

Note:

          Unification occurs every 8 hours. Once an Anonymized Whatfix ID is             linked to a User ID, any captured events received with that             Anonymized Whatfix ID is linked to the identified User ID in 8             hours.e        

        First time users:      

        When a user logs in to the application for the first time, Whatfix           generates an Anonymized Whatfix ID for them. The Anonymized Whatfix ID           is stored in the browser’s local storage, and all events are mapped to           this ID.      

        Returning users:      

        If the same user returns to the application later, within the same           day or after several days, Whatfix reuses the stored Anonymized           Whatfix ID. This enables Whatfix to recognize that the same user or           device is accessing the application again.      

        If the browser’s local storage is cleared, Whatfix considers the user           as a first time user and generates a new Anonymized Whatfix ID for           them.      

        Identified users:      

        When a user is identified through their User ID, Whatfix links their           Anonymized Whatfix ID to their User ID and tracks all engagement using           both identifiers.      

•             The User ID is stored in the browser’s local storage and remains               until a new User ID is detected or the storage is cleared.          

•             If Whatfix finds a new User ID, it replaces the existing one, and               tracks the future engagement data under the new ID.          

•             If the local storage is cleared, a new Anonymized Whatfix ID is               generated and sent until the user is identified again.          

•             If User Unification is enabled, Whatfix merges the past               engagements from the Anonymized Whatfix ID with the identified               User ID.          

                  Note:              

                When a user accesses the application from different browsers or                 devices, or if the browser’s local storage is cleared, Whatfix                 generates a new Anonymized Whatfix ID each time. As a result, a                 single user may have multiple Anonymized Whatfix IDs. With User                 Unification enabled, Whatfix merges these Anonymized Whatfix IDs                 into a single User ID, provided that each Anonymized ID has at                 least one event linked to the User ID.