User Attributes and Targeting

User attributes allow you to store additional information about users as key-value pairs. Use them to track information such as:

• Game level
• Payer status
• Custom user segments
• Any other data useful to your organization

SDK Setup

This page covers how to set up user attributes in the dashboard.

Important: Attributes only appear in the dashboard filters after they've been sent from the SDK at least once.

For platform-specific implementation details, see:

• Sending User Attributes -- Android
• Sending User Attributes -- iOS
• Sending User Attributes -- Unity
• Sending User Attributes -- React Native

Targeting Based on User Attributes

You can add up to 3 filters per piece of content.

Note: Capping and pacing is only available for currency sale banner content, not Multiple Choice questions.

Example: Targeting Users in France

The screenshot shows a partial list of targeting criteria received by TapResearch. Sending different attributes enables you to target different user segments.

Targeting Operators

String values:

• is equal to - Match a specific value or list of values
• contains - Match any value in a list

Numerical values:

• is equal to
• is greater/equal to
• is less/equal to

Important Limitations

• Case sensitivity - Attributes are case-sensitive: test and Test are different attributes
• Dates - Stored as strings: 2020-01-01 and 2020-1-1 are different values
• Booleans - Do not use native booleans. Use stringified values ("true") or integers (0, 1) instead
• Integer vs String - 1 and "1" are different values. For numerical comparisons, send integer values

Built-in Attributes

The SDK automatically sends these built-in attributes:

Country

The user's country location.

• Use 2-letter ISO country codes (e.g., US for United States)

First Seen At

The first time TapResearch saw this user.

• Use ISO8601 date strings: 2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
• Use relative dates: 3d targets users seen more than 3 days ago
• Date-only format works: 2020-01-01 equals 2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Test Devices

Targets only devices in your Test device list.

• Use for testing content before going live

Audience Percentage

Targets a percentage of users.

• Select groups out of 10 (each group = 10% of users)
• Example: Select 3 groups to target 30% of users

Examples

userAttributes = hashMapOf(
    "testStatus" to "VIP",
    "testInt" to 2,
    "testIntString" to "2",
    "vip_status" to "super-vip",
    "Some Date" to Instant.now().toString(), // 2023-08-31T10:15:30.00Z
    // The below will match on relative dates, so you can filter by "a Month Ago" >= 3d
    "a Month Ago" to LocalDate.now().minus(1, ChronoUnit.MONTHS).toString(), // 2023-07-31
    "testCAPSUpper" to "CAPS", // Matches "CAPS" but not "caps"
    "testCAPSLower" to "caps", // Matches "caps" but not "CAPS"
),

Technical Details

Attribute Caching

User attributes are cached for 1 minute on the backend.

• Changes to attributes may take up to 1 minute to be reflected when querying for content

Caching Examples

Example 1: User Levels Up

Scenario: User sees a placement, levels up, and views the same placement again.

playerLevel = 1 changes to playerLevel = 2

You have two pieces of content, one for level 1 and one for level 2.

• The user shows content for a placement
• The user's level is 1
• The user plays the game and levels up to 2
• The user clicks the placement again and its been less than 1m
• The user sees the same content for that placement, not the level 2 content

Example 2: New Attribute Added

Scenario: You have two pieces of content, one for attribute 1 and one for attribute 2.

attribute1 = 1

You add an attribute

attribute2 = 2

The user has seen a placement, gets an additional attribute they did not have before, and sees new content for that placement

• The user shows content for a placement
• The user has an additional attribute added to their user attributes that did not exist before
• The user clicks the placement again and its been less than 1m
• The user sees the new content for that placement, based on the filters for that content

Example 3: Date Targeting

• Relative dates
  • You want to show content to users who have been playing for 1 month
  • You'll want to target where First seen at <= 30d
• Absolute dates
  • You want to show content to users who have been playing for 1 month
  • You'll want to target where First seen at <= 2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Example 4: Boolean Values

• A user is a VIP
  • String
    • Send the attribute is_vip = "true"
    • You'll want to target where is_vip = "true"
  • Integer
    • Send the attribute is_vip = 1
    • You'll want to target where is_vip = 1

Example 5: Multiple Values

• You have multiple user types and want to target some of them
  • Send the attribute user_type = "vip" or user_type = "normal" or user_type = "super-vip"
  • Target where user_type = "vip" or user_type = "super-vip" using the contains operator in the UI

Troubleshooting

Content Not Matching?

Common issue: Sending strings instead of integers

• Sending "1" (string) will not match filters expecting 1 (integer)
• Solution: Send the value as an integer: 1