Frequently asked questions about push profiles and tokens

You will learn

Learn the answers to common questions surrounding push profiles and tokens.

In the sections below, we answer the following questions:

• Push profiles
  • How does Klaviyo identify mobile app profiles?
  • Why do I have anonymous profiles (i.e., profiles without an email or phone number)?
  • Why do I see a lot of Merged Profile events on a profile?
• Push tokens/consent
  • Why was a push token removed from a profile?
  • When are new push tokens generated?

FAQs for push profiles

How does Klaviyo identify mobile app profiles?

Installing and configuring the Klaviyo software development kit (SDK) in a mobile app allows Klaviyo to identify profiles and track events, just as adding Klaviyo’s Active on Site tracking snippet to a website does.

Once your app’s SDK integration is configured, Klaviyo uses the information your app sends to create or update profiles.

When a new user enters your app, Klaviyo checks if there’s any identifying information (e.g., an email). If so, Klaviyo looks for any existing profile that includes the same information.

If Klaviyo finds a matching profile, it updates that profile. If the app has already created a separate anonymous profile for the same user, Klaviyo merges the profiles when the identifying information connects them.

If there’s no matching profile, Klaviyo creates a new profile with the identifiers your app provides. If your app provides only an anonymous ID, the new profile is anonymous.

Why do I have anonymous profiles (i.e., profiles without an email or phone number)?

For mobile app users, an anonymous profile has an anonymous ID but no email, phone number, or external ID.

These profiles are created when the following 3 things all occur:

• Your app sends an anonymous ID through the Klaviyo SDK, such as when a user first opens the app.
• No existing profile matches the identifiers your app sends.
• No other unique identifier (email, phone number, or external ID) is provided for the user.

Note that anonymous profiles can be created even when a user does not consent for push notifications so that you are able to track user activity in your app.

Why do I see a lot of “Merged Profile” events for the profile?

A Merged Profile event appears when 2 separate profiles are combined. For mobile app users, this can happen when Klaviyo connects an anonymous app profile to an existing profile using an email, phone number, or external ID.

Multiple merged profile events may occur if a user downloads an app on multiple devices. In this case, Klaviyo creates an anonymous ID for each device. However, the profiles merge if Klaviyo later identifies the user on each device via an email, phone number, or external ID.

FAQs for push tokens/consent

A push token identifies your app on a particular device. To send marketing push notifications to that device, the user must have allowed notifications for your app on that device. Learn more about push notification consent.

Why was a push token removed from a profile?

Klaviyo removes push tokens from profiles when iOS or Android notifies Klaviyo that the tokens are not valid.

The process of how a token is removed is as follows:

1. You try to send a push notification (via a flow or campaign) to a token.
2. Android or iOS sends a response saying the token is invalid.
3. Klaviyo removes the push token.

Note that a user may have multiple push tokens on their profile because they have enabled push notifications on multiple devices (e.g., their phone and tablet). In this case, only the invalid token is removed, and you can continue to send push notifications to the user’s other devices.

If the token is the only one on the profile, the profile will be skipped from future push notifications until your app adds a valid push token again.

When are new push tokens generated?

Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) on Android and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) on iOS issue push tokens. Your app forwards these tokens to Klaviyo through the SDK. New tokens can be issued when someone first uses an app on a device or deletes and reinstalls the app. Tokens can also change later, such as when an app or device is restored from a backup.

Additional resources