Detect User

This is a conditional event that should only be fired in very specific cases. It is intended to cover cases where a user authentication system exists on the site but the user authentication state may not be known by the time the page_view event is sent. In that case, send this event as soon as the user authentication state is known.

Warning

Do not clear the page_data variable before setting user_login_state here as this is not a page view.

DO NOT populate user_id with a string value if unavailable

If the "user_id" is NOT available, DO NOT populate with an empty string (ex. "") or undefined as a string (ex. "undefined"). This value must ONLY be populated with a valid user id. If this value is not available, then either DO NOT include the parameter in the data layer push or populate with an undefined object (not a string).

Javascript Code

// When:
// User authentication exists, but the 'authentication state' may not be known by the time the page_view event is fired.
// NOTE: Do not clear the page_data variable before setting user_login_state here. This is not a page view.

// Code:
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
dataLayer.push({ event_data: null, user_data: null });  // Clear the previous event_data and user_data objects.
dataLayer.push({
  event: "detect_user",
  page_data: {
    user_login_state: '<user_login_state>', // REQUIRED | string | ex. authenticated, anonymous
  },
  user_data: {
    user_id: "<user_id>", // contextual | string | ex. 1234567890
    user_type: '<user_type>' // contextual | string | ex. new, returning
  }
});

Variable Definitions

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example	Maximum Length
user_id	string	contextual	The user identifier. This should only be populated with a valid user id. This MUST NOT be populated with any other string (e.x. "undefined", "null"). Using an undefined object is permitted.	1234567890	100
user_login_state	string	required	Set on all events with the authentication status of the visitor.	authenticated, anonymous	100
user_type	string	contextual	Set on all events with the authentication type of the visitor are they new or returning	new, returning	100