Create better audiences with user attribute data

You, the app marketer, are busy with the following:

• Maintaining 2 gaming apps: game_a and game_b.
• Launching game_c
• Targeting current app users with these user attributes:
  • Favorite sport: Cricket
  • Current game score: 15 or more in one of the current games

The table contains user-attribute data from your CRM. Audience rulesets need access to this data. 

Use CRM data in rulesets

In Audiences, create user attributes (favorite sport and game score). This gives ruleset access to CRM data. 

Scenario user attributes

User attributes in rulesets

User attributes act as filters in Audiences rulesets. This example uses criteria (favorite sport and game score) set by the marketer. 

Prerequisite:

To manage app-level attributes, an account user must have app permission. 

To set up user attributes follow these procedures: 

1. Add user attributes.

2. Do one of the following

   • Import user-attribute data by CSV.

   • Import user-attribute data by API.

3. Implement user attributes in rulesets.

To add user attributes:

1. In AppsFlyer, from the side menu, select Engage > Audiences.
2. Click the User Attributes tab.
3. Click Add user attribute.
   

   

4. Complete the fields. Field characteristics are listed in the table that follows. 
   
   • Attribute name
   • Format
   • Level
5. Click Save.

To manage user attributes, go to Audiences > User attributes tab.

Only an admin user can delete an attribute.

To delete an attribute that is part of a ruleset:

1. Remove the attribute from the ruleset.
2. Delete the attribute.

User-attribute data is added or removed via a CSV file. The figure and example CSV file that follows, match the scenario describing the feature in this article.

User-attribute-example.csv

CSV file requirements

• No header row
• Contains all the columns listed in the preceding table. 

To import a CSV file:

1. Go to Audiences > User attributes tab.
2. Click Import data.
3. Select CSV.
4. Select either:
   • Add data
   • Remove data 
5. Choose a CSV file to import. 
6. Click Upload; an upload status message will appear.

Note: When importing user attributes, all known devices associated with a customer ID are also assigned the attribute. For example, if a user imported 10 devices (by customer_id) to attribute “Game score”, and one of the customer_ids is associated with 2 devices (i.e. 2 GAIDs with the same CUID), then this import will contain 11 user attribute records.

This import method requires a request URL and JSON with user-attribute data.

1. In the dashboard, get the prepared API request calls and JSON template.
2. Populate the JSON template with your data according to the field specifications. 

To generate the API request URL and JSON template:

1. Click Import data.
2. Select API.
3. Select an action:
   
   • Update user-attributes: Overwrite or add.
   • Remove user-attributes.
   • Remove user data: Removes all data relating to a specific user. User is identified by their AppsFlyer ID.
   • Remove app data: Removes all data at the app level. 
4. Copy the generated API request URL.
5. Copy the generated API request body.
6. Prepare the JSON (with its user-attribute data) using the specified JSON format. For account-level attributes set "app_ids": ["*"]
7. Prepare the API call based on the URL and request body.
8. Send the request programmatically.

https://hq1.appsflyer.com/api/user-attributes-import-api/set-user-data
{
  "import_key": "c733e4d7-b538-4d12-a2ef-ffffffffffff",
  "attributes_values": [
    {
      "device_id": "",
      "customer_id": "",
      "app_ids": [],
      "attributes": [
        {
          "attribute_key": "",
          "attribute_value": ""
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

{
    "import_key": "c733e4d7-b538-4d12-a2ef-ffffffffffff",
    "attributes_values": [
        {
            "device_id": "0bcfc579-f1f3-4452-9111f",
            "customer_id": "2222222",
            "app_ids": ["game.a.demo"],
            "attributes": [
                {
                    "attribute_key": "score",
                    "attribute_value": 5
                }
                ,
                {
                    "attribute_key": "favorite_sport",
                    "attribute_value": "cricket"
                }
            ]
        }
        ,
        {
            "device_id": "555555-d1d1-d1d1-555-fffffffff",
            "customer_id": "111111",
            "app_ids": ["game.a.demo"],
            "attributes": [
                {
                    "attribute_key": "order",
                    "attribute_value": 7
                }
                ,
                {
                    "attribute_key": "number",
                    "attribute_value": 8
                }
            ]
        }]
}

{
    "import_key": "c733e4d7-b538-4d12-a2ef-ffffffffffff",
    "attributes_values": [
        {
            "device_id": "0bcfc579-f1f3-4452-9111f",
            "customer_id": "12345678",
            "app_ids": ["game.a.demo"],
            "attributes": [
                {
                    "attribute_key": "score",
                    "attribute_value": 90
                }
                ,
                {
                    "attribute_key": "favorite-sport",
                    "attribute_value": "cricket"
                }
                ,
                {
                    "attribute_key": "orderNumber",
                    "attribute_value": 93
                }
                ,
                {
                    "attribute_key": "netPromoterScore",
                    "attribute_value": 94
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

General limitations

• Only integer (whole) numbers are supported in CSV/API import data. Float type (decimal) numbers are not supported. Example: A "score" attribute value can be 90, but not 90.5.
• User-attribute data can't be printed or downloaded. 

• Attribute value limitations:

  • No commas, dots, or other special characters inside attribute values.
  • There is a length limitation of 40 characters for a string attribute value.
  • Attribute values can't start with 0.

API import limitations

• Maximum 350 API requests per minute, 10K devices for flat payload (10K devices with one attribute, 5K devices with 2 attributes, etc.)
• Both device_id and customer_idkeys are mandatory for every import call. If you want to import attributes with only one of these identifiers, the call has to include the “header” of the other identifier with an empty string. For example, if you want to import attributes per device_id and no customer_id, the call should look like this:

"attributes_values": [
{
"device_id": "39e123.......",
"customer_id": "",

CSV import limitations

• When adding user attribute values, there is a maximum of 10 million rows per CSV file.