User Identification Defined

A user identification or user ID is an entity used to identify a user on a website, software, system or within a generic IT environment. It is the most common authentication mechanism used within computing systems.

Regardless of the type of user and their rights, each user has a unique identification that distinguishes it from other users. System administrators use these IDs to assign privileges, track user activity and manage overall operations on a particular system, network or application.

Many analytics technologies can’t identify unique users if they use multiple devices across multiple sessions, as each time a user does this, a new user is counted. By having a unique user ID, this eliminates this issue, allowing for all activity being attributed to one user in an analytics report.

In Data Defined, we help make the complex world of data more accessible by explaining some of the most complex aspects of the field.

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