Users and user properties in Zoho Apptics

Users and user properties

Overview

Users in Zoho Apptics lets you define and track user properties, i.e., a set of user-centric demographic attributes associated with the individuals (Users) using the application across devices and platforms. Later, you can view the user details and the tracked attributes together as user profiles in the Apptics console.

Notes
Note: User-based tracking and user properties are optional. We recommend starting with event tracking, and enabling user-based tracking only if needed.

Types of tracking and data model in Zoho Apptics

In Zoho Apptics, data tracking and analytics can be done in two ways and involves two different entities: Devices and Users.

Device-based tracking and device-attributed data

When an individual uses an application, the device they use is registered with Zoho Apptics and assigned a unique identifier known as the Device ID. In device-based tracking, all collected data points are tied to this Device ID and are based on interactions that occur within the app on that specific device.

Since these interactions are primarily captured as individual events, this type of tracking is also referred to as event-based tracking. However, it’s important to note that this data is associated with the device rather than the user.

Hence, device-based tracking is useful for:
  1. Understand user behavior at the device-level.
  2. User login is not available or consistent.
  3. Collection of analytics data without any PII due to privacy concerns.

User-based tracking and user-attributed data

In contrast to device-based tracking, user-based tracking maps any interaction or activity to the individual who is using the app across sessions and devices. This is possible when you identifies the individual using a unique identifier known as the User ID and it is usually assigned after sign-up or login.

With user-based tracking, you can:
  1. Track a single user's journey across devices and platforms. (Eg: The same user can be using an application on their iphone, tablet, and on browser accessing the web version too.)
  2. Measure user engagement and retention per user.
  3. Analyze user behavior more accurately with segments and cohorts.
This approach is ideal for long-term behavior analysis, delivering personalized experiences, and lifecycle tracking.

User properties

Unlike custom properties which are a set of additional attributes associated to user actions (events), user properties are attributes that are tracked and associated directly to the specific user. They are specific key-value pairs that you would want to track and associate to an app user. In Apptics, you can define and track two types of user properties: Defined user properties and Custom user properties.

Defined user properties

They are a set of 15 predefined user properties which you can track and associate with a user ID in Apptics. Here are the list of predefined properties provided by Zoho Apptics:
  1. first_name
  2. last_name
  3. company_name
  4. email_address
  5. contact_number
  6. country
  7. region
  8. city
  9. geo_location
  10. gender
  11. plan_type
  12. timezone
  13. language
  14. engagement_score
  15. dob

Custom user properties

They are additional user properties that you can define and track for your app up to 30 additional custom properties tailored to your app’s needs, apart from the 15 defined user properties provided by Apptics. 
Notes
Note: Ensure to review the rules and limitations below before defining user properties for your app.

Rules and limitations for defining user properties

Rules and limitations
Details
User properties allowed
45 (15 defined properties + 30 custom properties)
Max property key length
50 characters
Max property value length
255 characters
Max properties allowed per object (user)
45 properties 
Allowed data types
String, boolean, integer, long, float, and double
Max JSON object length
18,000
Validation behavior
Only the invalid keys will be ignored,
while the other valid keys will be tracked.

Info
You can add only 45 user properties via the SDK. Once the limit is reached, the 46th custom property will be ignored. We recommend to prioritize and use the used properties based on your requirements within the defined limit.

Users page in the Apptics console

Once you define and start tracking user properties for your app, you will be able to see the list of all the users registered for your app in the Users page in Apptics console.
  1. Navigate to Marketer > User in the left menu, and you can view the total number of all time users and new users for the selected date range.

  1. As you scroll down, you will find the users list with all the registered users and their details such as user name, email address, last active session, the registration date and time, user ID, the number of registered devices associated with the user, the number of user groups in which they are a part of.
  2. Click on Redacted to view the User ID and Email address, provided you have the required permissions to access the records. 

Difference between User ID and Email ID

User ID is a unique identifier defined by the developer for each user. It can be any data type.
For example: a username, numeric ID, or even an email string.

Email Address, on the other hand, is a separate defined user property in Apptics and must aways be a valid email format.
For example: abc@domain.com

In the Apptics console, both User ID and Email Address are displayed as separate columns in the Users list, with the sensitive information redacted by default.
Notes
Note:
  1. Viewing the users page and accessing user details like user ID, email address, and user properties is a role-based action. Only the project members with the appropriate roles and privileges can view it.
  2. Whenever the user info is viewed, a record is created in the audit logs for the project in the Apptics console as per Zoho's privacy policy. 

Manage user properties

  1. Click on Manage user properties to view the list of all the custom, defined, and deleted user properties for your app in the Apptics console.

Delete user properties

You cannot edit user properties once registered. However, you can delete existing custom user properties from the console. If the limit exceeds, you can consider deleting any outdated ones and then add new user properties later from the SDK.
  1. Click on the bin icon next to the individual property in the properties list. 

  1. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Click on Yes, delete if you want to proceed.

  1. You can click on Deleted to view the list of all the deleted properties.

Notes
Note:
  1. You can delete only custom user properties and not the defined properties from the console.
  2. Once you delete the custom property, you cannot retrieve it and no further tracking will happen. The associated data will not be available in the console. To track a deleted property again, you will need to reconfigure it in the SDK again.

Export user data

You can export user data with user properties from the Users page in the form of .CSV file format. You can export and download the users list including user ID, last active date and time, registered date and time, total number of devices mapped to the user, and total number user groups the user is associated with. 
  1. Click on Export option.

  1. A pop up will appear where you can create an export list.
  2. Provide an export name, select the date range for which you want to export data, and choose the fields you want to include or exclude.
  3. If you want the export list to be password protected, you can also add the password here.

  1. Once providing the required details, click Export.
  2. Once the export is created, it will be available for download under the Export list.

  1. You will see a list of all the active exports available for download along with details like the export name, exported date and time, the expiry date and time, and the export status.
  2. You can download the export data by clicking on the download icon and delete an export if required.
Notes
Note:
  1. Every export will be available for 7 days from creation and expires automatically after that period.
  2. Downloading an export is a role-based action and can be done only if you have engagement management privileges for your role.

User profiles

A user profile contains detailed information about the user. It is created based on the set of user properties tracked for the user. You can view all the associated attributes including defined user properties, custom user properties, and the list of devices mapped to the individual user. In simpler terms, each row on the Users list table is an entry for an individual user. 
  1. Click on the individual entry on the users list to see the user profile. You will see user details, i.e., all the user attributes tracked using the defined and custom user properties.
  2. You can view the list of all the devices mapped to the user along with details like device ID, device type, device model, app version, OS version, and tracking status.



Search by user properties

You can use user properties as personalized search filters to filter out data based on the defined and custom properties tracked for the app. 
  1. Click on Filter by user properties.
  2. Select the user properties and define criteria patterns based on which you want to filter the data. You can define criteria based on the the AND-OR logic.
  3. You can also define the aggregation operations like calculating the count, sum average, minimum, and maximum of the filter out data and values, group, and sort the filtered data. It helps you drill down specific data in a more easy-to-understand format.
  4. Once you have applied the required filters, click on Apply.
  5. You will then see a list of all the users based on the applied filters and selected date range.



Edge cases

  1. We have a 7-days limitation while tracking sessions and showing the details in the console. A session will be tracked in Apptics only if the session was closed within 7 days. If a crash instance happens but the session is still open after 7 days, the session data will not be tracked and no session data will be available in the console.
  2. If a session gets closed within 7 days, then that session data will be shown later in the console.
  3. The exported data in .CSV format does not contain user properties like user name, age, organization, etc. as separate columns but will be available as comma-separated key-value pairs tracked for each user in the list.