architect-user-data-api

To migrate external_id values in Braze without breaking targeting, implement a two-phase rename, verify, and remove workflow with proper batch sizing and rollback guardrails. This approach preserves analytics integrity and minimizes MAU disruption while safely removing deprecated IDs.

Braze merge and identify endpoints serve distinct user resolution purposes. Merge combines duplicate profiles into one canonical user, while identify links anonymous aliases or external IDs to existing profiles, affecting how targeting and data persistence operate across the user lifecycle.

Use synchronous user ingestion in Braze when you need strict event ordering guarantees, and asynchronous ingestion for higher throughput batch processing. The choice between /users/track and /users/track/sync depends on your specific ordering requirements and rate limit constraints.

Braze user data APIs enforce specific batch limits, rate limits, and permission scopes for profile updates and event tracking. Designing your ingestion architecture requires meeting these technical constraints, including idempotency patterns, to ensure reliable data processing.

You can use user aliases, email, phone, or braze_id instead of external_id for Braze identity management. Your identity resolution strategy choice directly affects targeting capabilities and profile persistence, requiring careful evaluation of which identifier best fits your data architecture.