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A user on a device is automatically allocated a unique device ID by the Permutive SDK on behalf of the publisher. This user ID is distinct across publishers, such that the same user who visits two different publishers’ sites on their device will be assigned distinct IDs. As a first-party identity, it does not track users across domains or devices, and it has no reliance on third-party identifiers like cookies or mobile device IDs. The user ID is used in Permutive’s cloud to generate accurate publisher-level audience insights, and on-device to store cohort information across sessions.

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Identifiers

In addition to the automatically assigned user ID, publishers can associate users with other identifiers. An identifier represents a specific ID type (such as an email address or a third-party identity) and consists of:
  • Tag: The type of identifier (e.g., email, uid2, rampid)
  • Value: The actual ID value for the user
Identifiers can be used to:
  • Unify cross-device behavior: Connect a user’s activity across multiple devices they are logged in to, enabling segmentation based on their combined behavior across sites owned by the publisher.
  • Connect auxiliary data: Augment user segmentation with third-party audience data provided by partners (with appropriate user consent).
  • Enable identity-based activation: Activate audiences through server-to-server integrations with partners that support identifier-based targeting.
Publishers can configure which identifier types they collect and use within their Permutive workspace through the Identity Graph.

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User group identifiers

In addition to user-level identifiers, Permutive supports user group identifiers that represent a group of users rather than an individual. The most common example is a household ID. A household ID represents users residing in the same household, enabling publishers to:
  • Segment at the household level: Build cohorts based on the combined behavior of all users in a household, such as “households with 5+ video starts in the last 14 days.”
  • Target across devices: Reach all devices in a household based on behavior observed on any member device—particularly valuable in CTV environments where multiple devices share a household context.
  • Apply household-level frequency caps: Control ad exposure across all devices in a household rather than per-device.
Household ID graphs can be imported into Permutive via Connectivity from data warehouses such as BigQuery, Snowflake, or S3, and are managed through the Identity Graph alongside user-level identifiers.

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Identity resolution

Identity resolution is the process of linking multiple identifiers to the same user, creating a unified view across different touchpoints. When an identifier is set via the SDK or API, Permutive checks whether that identifier is already associated with an existing user. If a match is found, the user profiles are merged so that all identifiers resolve to the same Permutive ID. When multiple identifiers are provided, they are resolved in priority order (lower number = higher priority), allowing publishers to control which identifiers take precedence.

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Identity Graph

The Identity Graph is Permutive’s core identity management system that collects, stores, and links identifiers to build a unified view of users across domains, devices, and sessions. It supports both user-level and user group-level identifiers, enabling publishers to build identity relationships for audience targeting, insights, measurement, and activation. Publishers configure their identifier types and manage the Identity Graph through the Permutive dashboard.