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User identification signals in a native Android app

Identification signals tell Connect who is using your app. When a user registers or signs in, the Connect SDK sends an identifier — such as a customer ID or email address — and Connect uses it to match the app session to an existing contact or create a new one automatically. Once the contact is known, marketers can target push notifications and attribute the rest of the session to that contact's profile.

Availability: Pro, Premium and Ultimate

Available signals

The following identification signals are available in the Connect Android SDK.

SignalDescription
accountRegisteredCaptures when a new user completes registration
loggedInCaptures when an existing user signs in

Identification signals use Connect.logIdentificationEvent, not Connect.logSignal.

Prerequisites

The Connect SDK must be initialized via Connect.enable() before sending any signals. For setup instructions, see Integrate the Connect SDK into a native Android app (View-based) or Integrate the Connect SDK into a native Android app (Jetpack Compose).

Implementation

Each signal type has its own how-to guide with required fields, code examples, and implementation guidance:

Important considerations

Choosing an identifier

Use the most stable identifier available:

  1. Customer ID (preferred) — if your Connect audience has a contact key attribute, use it. Note that a contact key alone cannot create a new contact — if no matching contact exists and the only identifier is a contact key, the signal is discarded. Use email address or phone number as a fallback for new users.
  2. Email address or phone number — both are standard contact attributes in Connect and work well when no customer ID is available.

The identifierName parameter must match a contact attribute name exactly as it appears in Connect, including capitalization and spacing. To look up attribute names, in Connect go to Audience > Contacts > Attributes.

When to call

Fire identification signals after the action is confirmed — not on form submit.

SignalWhen to call
accountRegisteredAfter the account is successfully created
loggedInAfter authentication is confirmed; also on app launch if the user is already signed in

Verify signal capture

To confirm signals are flowing to Connect:

  1. Trigger a registration or sign-in flow in your app using a test account.
  2. Log in to your Connect subscription.
  3. Go to Data management > Audience.
  4. On the All contacts tab, select the contact you used for testing.
  5. In the activity feed, check for the signals you triggered.
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Note

The activity feed displays the last 1000 signals or signals from the last 30 days. Newly added signals may take a few minutes to appear.

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