Events and attributes are the two building blocks of every user profile in Insider One. Understanding the difference between them and knowing when to use each is the foundation of an effective data strategy across segmentation, personalization, and cross-channel journeys.
Events vs. Attributes
The critical distinction is how each type handles time. An event records every individual occurrence of an action. An attribute stores only the most recent known value for a property. This single behavioral difference determines which type to reach for when designing your tracking schema.
An event records every occurrence. Full history is preserved. You can use it for behavioral tracking, triggers, and time-series analytics. While an attribute stores only the latest value. Previous values are overwritten. You can use it for profile properties and segmentation filters.
An event is a user action, captured at the moment it occurs. Events capture what a user does: a click, a purchase, a page visit, a form submission. Each occurrence is logged as a separate, timestamped record on the user profile.
Listing page view
Mobile app open
Lead collection form submit
Purchase
WhatsApp reply
Store visit
An attribute is a property of the user that is updated on their profile. Attributes describe who a user is: their personal information, preferences, and current state. Each write overwrites the previous value; only the latest is stored.
First name, last name
Email address, phone number
Country, city
Last visited product name
Subscription status
Language, gender
For example: A user views three products:
Product Page View event is logged for Product A — timestamped record #1 on the user profile.
Product Page View event is logged for Product B — timestamped record #2 on the user profile.
Product Page View event is logged for Product C — timestamped record #3 on the user profile.
Last Visited Product Name attribute is now Product C. Products A and B are no longer stored here; only the latest value is kept.
User profiles: Events and attributes collected across web, mobile, CRM, and messaging channels are unified into a single User Profile per user in the Unified Customer Database (UCD). All UCD products (segmentation, personalization, campaigns) draw from this unified profile.
Event parameters
Every event can carry additional context through event parameters, key-value pairs that describe the specifics of that particular occurrence. Parameters are scoped to the event; they do not persist independently on the user profile.
Example: The purchase event with event parameters
Event: Purchase
Parameter: product_name: "Slim Fit Chinos"
Parameter: price: 79.99
Parameter: category: "Men's Clothing"
You can assign custom event parameters to default events, and default event parameters to custom events.
You can use user events to create advanced segmentation and targeting, and to personalize your users’ experience with individualized content.
Default and custom types
Both events and attributes come in two varieties: default (predefined by Insider One) and custom (defined by your team). Understanding this distinction is important for knowing what you need to implement and what is already available.
Default events and attributes
Default events and attributes are predefined by Insider One based on common user behavior and the requirements of Insider One’s products. They are ready to be populated and do not count against your custom events and attributes limit.
Some defaults are auto-populated by the Insider One integration; you do not need to trigger them. Others require an integration or data ingestion from your side. All defaults are listed on the Components > Attributes and Events page.
Check before you create:
Before creating a custom event or attribute, verify that a default equivalent does not already exist. The email attribute, for example, is a default one, you only need to pass the value, not define the attribute itself.
Custom events and attributes
Custom events and attributes are any events and attributes you define and send (e.g., Event Integration, Upsert User Data API, etc.) to Insider One that fall outside the default schema. They are created automatically the first time you send them; you do not need to pre-register them in the InOne panel before ingesting data.
Type | Default Example | Custom Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
Event | Cart Page View | Wishlist Page View |
Event Parameter | product_name on a Purchase event | wishlist_item_name on a Wishlist Page View event |
Attribute | Last Visited Product Name | Last Wishlist Item |
Insider One allows an unlimited number of custom events to be passed into the platform. There is no cap on the number of event types. Attribute limits apply separately.
Limits and allocation
The following limits apply to attributes stored in the Unified Customer Database:
Type | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Total Attributes (UCD) | 200 | Combined limit across default and custom attributes. |
Default Attributes | 120 | Predefined by Insider One. Do not count against your custom attribute allocation. |
Custom Attributes | 80 | Defined by your team. Contact the Insider One team to request an increase. |
Custom Events | Unlimited | No cap on the number of event types passed into the platform. |
Custom Event Parameters | 80 | Defined by your team. Excludes default ones. |
Data point consumption:
Custom events and custom attributes affect your monthly data point consumption. Default events and attributes vary, see the Data Points reference for a full breakdown by type.
Ingest custom events and attributes
You can send custom events, event parameters, and attributes to Insider One through client-side SDKs, server-to-server APIs, or native/third-party/external integrations. Insider One's UCD captures the data using the name and key you set; you do not need to visit the Attributes and Events page to create custom events, event parameters, or attributes.
The most common data ingestion methods are as follows:
External platform integrations (e.g., Segment, Salesforce, etc.)
With Insider One’s SDK’s capabilities, you can also create and test your custom events, event parameters, and attributes on the Mobile Test Lab without visiting the Events & Attributes page.
Use cases
Once ingested, events and attributes are available across all UCD products. Below are the primary ways you can use them.
Advanced segmentation capabilities
You can use the Events and Attributes segments in the Standard segments to build targeted user groups. For example, you can create a segment of users older than 24 with the Attributes segment. Or you can target the users who have made a purchase once in the last 24 hours with the Events segment.
You can also create Saved Segments with Events or Attributes for your campaigns.
See below for some segment examples with default and custom events and attributes:
A brand-specific segment with users who are interested in the Poshstreet brand and are more likely to buy discounted products, whose last purchase date is in the last 90 days, and who did not visit your website in the last 30 days
Replenishers segment with users who performed the Purchase event of a specific product, who have the One Time Shopper attribute, and who made a purchase in the last 60 days
Credit card seekers segment with users who have the new_user attribute, who performed the Credit Card Page Visit event and the Left Application Form event, and who are iOS users
Sedan car lovers segment with users who have the new_user attribute, who performed the sedan_car_visit event and the Left Test Drive Form event, and who are tablet users
Active data consumers segment with users who performed the data_package_excessed event, who have the Value Added Service User and In Renewal Term attributes, and who are iOS users
Individualized experience with dynamic content
With the Dynamic Content feature, you can individualize the user experience with events, event parameters, and attributes for better targeting and offer highly personalized content.
With Dynamic Content, you can use the default and custom attributes, and (constant) event parameters in your campaign content.
You can use the constant event parameters, including the default or custom event parameters of the default or custom events, as dynamic content only in Architect journeys.
See below for some examples:
You can add dynamic content to your Web Push message sent through an Architect journey.
You can send an Email to your users with their names in the subject line and their custom wishlist items in the body.
You can send a Web Push notification containing the last-visited product’s information. This way, each user will receive a notification with different content.
You can send an App Push notification to your users with their names in the message.
You can send a replenishment message to remind your users about a product they previously bought, prompting them to repurchase it.
In your Architect journey, you can send a WhatsApp message to remind your users of an item they left in their cart.
Feeding data to your other platforms
Just as you can feed your online data with your offline data for unification purposes, you can also pass this data to your other online and offline platforms. This means you can use the data Insider One collects outside your Insider One campaigns.
You can export your raw user data, set up a data stream, or connect your users' events and attributes to your services, such as CRM and call centers, for online and offline targeting.
To do this, you can utilize the following resources:
Further reading:
See the complete list of Default Events and Default Attributes references for the full list of predefined types available in your account.