> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gethinto.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Identify users

> Link browser sessions to customers after sign-in.

Without `identify`, sessions still arrive, but nobody can tell whose they are. An investigation into "Priya cannot export her report" needs Priya's session, and `identify` is how Hinto finds it.

## When to call identify

Call `identify` wherever the signed-in user becomes known. Call it again after a user switch.

```js theme={null}
// After sign-in:
hinto.identify({ kind: "email", value: user.email });
```

You can also identify by your own user id:

```js theme={null}
hinto.identify({ kind: "external_id", value: user.id });
```

## Optional fields

Since 0.3.0 you can pass optional fields that improve the customer record in the Hinto console:

```js theme={null}
hinto.identify({
  kind: "email",
  value: user.email,
  name: user.name,
  company: user.company,
  companyId: user.companyId,
  traits: { plan: user.plan },
});
```

When `name` is omitted, the customer record uses the identifier itself (for example the email address).

## What happens without identify

Sessions arrive unattributed. Investigations cannot cite them as evidence for a specific customer. The SDK step in onboarding stays waiting until a session with a linked customer is received.