FAQs · Resources · Best practices · Troubleshooting

Which browsers can I use to access Blueshift?

Blueshift is built for the latest version of Google Chrome on laptop or desktop. Chromium-based browsers such as Brave and Microsoft Edge may work, but are not officially supported.

Safari, Firefox, and all mobile browsers are not supported.

How does Blueshift identify a user and their activities?

Known users are identified by customer_id (preferred), email, and/or device_id. Unknown users on the web are tracked via a first-party cookie. For non-identify events, include either customer_id or device_id in the event data.

Can anonymous user activity be linked to a known customer?

Yes. Blueshift can link anonymous web activity to a known customer profile if the user clicks a URL in a Blueshift email that redirects to your site, and a matching customer profile with that email address exists.

To enable this feature, contact [email protected] or your Customer Success Manager.

Can I add user attributes on an ongoing basis?

Yes. Upload as many user attributes as needed, as frequently as needed, through the dashboard — as long as each row is mapped to an email address.

How do I unsubscribe users manually?

Small set of users: Search for the user in Customer Attributes and edit their status manually.

Large set of users: Create a CSV with the user's email and unsubscribe set to true, then upload via the Customer Attributes UI.

Can I use the dashboard to upload CRM data?

Yes. We recommend uploading no more than ~500K rows at a time. For larger datasets, split the file into smaller segments or work with the Blueshift team to upload via S3.

What information should be included in historical data?

Only order and purchase data is required. Other event data is not needed. Add a separate row for each transaction in the CSV file.

Are there specific formats required for field types?

Yes. All date fields must be sent in ISO 8601 format.

What types of events should I send to Blueshift?

We recommend sending at least: identify (on login and sign-up), viewed_page (required on every page), viewed_product, add_to_cart, checkout, and purchase.

How does Blueshift track conversions and revenue?

Set the Attribution parameters in Account Settings, then use the standard purchase event to track revenue.

How can I verify that events sent to Blueshift are being processed?

View event logs by date — including any errors — in the Event Stream.

What data should be included in the product catalog?

Required: product ID, name, URL, image URL, price, and sale price.

Recommended: category, on-sale status, and in/out of stock information.

Does Blueshift accept multiple product catalogs?

Yes. However, product IDs must be unique across all catalogs.

How do I set a product status to out-of-stock?

Configure rules in catalog settings to map a field value to OUT_OF_STOCK or IN_STOCK. For example, set inventory = 0 to map to OUT_OF_STOCK, or map a status field where Inactive maps to OUT_OF_STOCK.

How do I expire or remove a product?

Send start_date and end_date in ISO 8601 format. Blueshift automatically sets the product to OUT_OF_STOCK when today's date falls outside that range.

What happens when I re-import or update a catalog?

Blueshift uses INSERT/UPDATE logic — new products are inserted and existing products are updated, identified by their SKU or product_id.

What data can I use to create segments?

All data in Blueshift is available for segmentation. Retention periods: recent events (31 days), events with product_id data (183 days), messaging engagement (183 days), transactions (up to 10 years).

How often are segments refreshed?

Segments refresh automatically. For segment-triggered campaigns, they refresh every 3–5 minutes.

I need to segment users based on events older than 90 days. How can I do that?

Product-based events such as add-to-cart are retained for 183 days, and transactions for up to 10 years. For custom retention needs, contact the Blueshift team.

Can I export all users in a segment to a CSV file?

Yes. Click the Export User List icon on the segment page. The file reflects the most recent segment refresh.

How do I personalize an email template?

Blueshift uses Liquid to insert personalized content — user, product, and transaction attributes. See Personalization using Liquid.

What level of personalization is available in push notifications?

The same personalizations as email templates. Given size limitations, include only a few key attributes in push notifications.

Can I preview an email in a browser?

Yes. Insert {{email_preview_link}} in your template to enable browser preview.

Can I preview templates before launching a campaign?

Yes. Each messaging channel has a Test Send feature. Personalization preview is available for email templates only.

Can I overwrite UTM parameters in an email template?

Yes, by defining the UTM parameters directly in the campaign trigger settings.

Can Blueshift host a preference center for us?

Contact the Blueshift team to discuss available options.

Does Blueshift support deep-linking within mobile apps?

Yes. See Blueshift's Deep Links for setup details.

How is a push message delivered?

When a customer installs or re-installs your app, a device_token is generated and sent to Blueshift. Push messages are sent to this token.

Does Blueshift store multiple device tokens per customer?

Yes. New tokens are appended as generated. A token is removed only when Apple or GCM notifies Blueshift it is no longer in use.

What does the "Use last device token" setting do?

By default, Blueshift sends to only one device per customer — the last device used. To enable delivery to all active devices, contact [email protected].

Where can I find reporting FAQs?

See the dedicated Reporting FAQs article.