What Are User Attributes?

In this article, you’ll learn what User Attributes are and the enriched insights they can provide as demonstrated through some use cases. To jump straight into setting up User Attributes and some implementation examples, see our guide on How to Set Up User Attributes and our Identify API Reference.

• What are User Attributes?
• How can User Attributes be used?

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What are User Attributes?

It’s likely you already have data about your users, such as when they created an account or their total amount of purchases. You can send your existing user data to Hotjar to enhance your analysis and insights within Hotjar - this is the essence of our User Attributes feature.

User Attributes are facts about your users that are sent to Hotjar. You can use them to filter Recording and Heatmap data, create Segments, or show Surveys only to specific users. User Attributes allow you to learn much more about the users you care about the most.

The User Attributes feature also makes it easier to respect your user’s privacy rights by allowing you to lookup and delete user data by user ID.

How can I send my user data to Hotjar as User Attributes?

For User Attributes to be available inside Hotjar, you’ll first need to start sending your user data to Hotjar through our Identify API. Sending this data involves adding some custom code to your site, which will require your web developer. Your web developer can ensure that the values you’re choosing to target are available within your site.

See our How to Set Up User Attributes article when you’re ready to set up User Attributes.

Overview of the User Attributes and Identify API

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How can User Attributes be used?

Data you’ve sent to Hotjar using the Identify API becomes User Attributes inside Hotjar. Hotjar doesn’t collect the information related to these attributes on its own. See our article on Data Safety, Privacy & Security to learn more about Hotjar's approach to data safety and privacy.

Use cases

The following are examples of common uses and not an exhaustive list of possibilities.

Recordings and Heatmaps
Attribute	Use Case	Goal
user_id	Find recordings of specific users/customers.	Get more context around a support ticket, or feedback, and follow up with the individual.
signed_up	Show the date when a user signed up for a service or mailing list.	Understand user behavior and increase conversions.
created	Show the date when the user's account was first created.	Understand user behavior over time.
first_name*	Show the user's name.	Used when following up with the user about a support issue or feedback.
company	Show the company or organization a user is affiliated with.	Compare how users from various organizations interact with your platform.
role	Show the user's role within an organization.	Segmenting users for better data filtering.
on_trial	Determine whether or not a user is on a trial version of your product.	Identify trial accounts to increase conversions.
campaign	Determine which campaign/UTM a user was targeted by.	Understand campaign performance and increase conversions.
total_purchases	Show the total value of all purchases made from a user.	Understand the behaviors of high-value customers on your site.
country	Show the country associated with a user.	Identify trends on app/site usage based on location.
email*	Show the user's email address.	Follow up with user about bugs, issues, or feedback given.

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Surveys
Attribute	Use Case	Goal
language	Show the user's preferred language.	Target users with a survey written in the preferred language.
widgets_opt_out	Identify users who have specifically asked not to be shown surveys on the app/site.	Ensure users are not targeted with surveys if they've requested to not be targeted by them.
role	Show the user's role within an organization.	Segmenting users for better targeting of surveys.
subscription_type	Identify users with a specific subscription type.	Asking your highest-paying users for feedback about a potential UI change. Learn more about concept testing in Surveys.

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See also

• How to Set Up User Attributes
• [Course] How to learn about your users with User Attributes
• User Attributes FAQ
• Identify API Reference
• When to Use Events and User Attributes