---
title: "What is User Identification? Definition & Examples | Kitbase"
description: "The process of associating analytics data with a known user identity, linking anonymous activity to a real person."
canonical: https://kitbase.dev/glossary/user-identification
---

[Home](/) [Glossary](/glossary) User Identification

User Management

# What is User Identification?

The process of associating analytics data with a known user identity, linking anonymous activity to a real person.

User identification (or "identifying" a user) is the process of linking anonymous tracking data to a known user identity — typically when they log in, sign up, or provide their email. Before identification, the user is tracked with an anonymous ID; after, all their data is associated with their real identity.

Identification enables powerful analytics capabilities: you can track a user's complete journey from first anonymous visit through signup and beyond, build user profiles with merged behavioral data, and segment users by their attributes.

The identify call typically includes a unique user ID and optional traits like name, email, plan, and company. Good analytics tools automatically merge the anonymous pre-identification data with the identified user profile.

## Example

A visitor browses your site anonymously for three sessions over a week. When they sign up, you call `identify` with their user ID and email. All three previous anonymous sessions are now linked to their profile, giving you a complete picture of their journey from first visit to signup.

## Code Example

javascript

```
// Identify a user after login
kitbase.identify("user_12345", {
  name: "Jane Smith",
  email: "jane@example.com",
  plan: "pro"
});
```

Identifying a user with traits using the Kitbase SDK

## Related Terms

[

Anonymous User

A website visitor who has not been identified, tracked using a randomly generated anonymous ID.

](/glossary/anonymous-user)[

Identity Resolution

The process of merging multiple anonymous and identified user records into a single unified user profile.

](/glossary/identity-resolution)[

Session Tracking

The process of monitoring and recording user sessions to understand visit-level behavior and engagement.

](/glossary/session-tracking)[

Event Tracking

The process of recording specific user interactions and actions within a website or application for analysis.

](/glossary/event-tracking)

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