Identify logged-out (anonymous) users

When a user views any of these public pages on Clarityflow...

  • An intake page

  • A conversation that is publicly viewable ("anyone with the link can view")

  • A group space that is publicly viewable ("anyone with the link can view")

  • A course (formerly called "Program") enrollment that is publicly viewable ("anyone with the link can view")

  • A product purchase page

  • An intake page or conversation that is embedded on your site using an HTML iframe

...If the viewing user is not currently logged into Clarityflow, then Clarityflow won't know who that user is (but we have a way around that, as you'll see below).

When this user submits their message, by default, the user would see a popup prompt that looks something like this:

Prompt anonymous replies

The user has three options here:

  1. Register & send - The user can input their name and email, then click "Register & send." This will register the new user as a respondent user (which is free) and will send and post the message with this newly registered user's name attached.

    • The user will also receive an email from Clarityflow, with an auto-generated password, which they can use to log back into Clarityflow anytime.

    • The user will receive subsequent emails from Clarityflow when their message has been viewed, and when new replies have been posted to the conversation.

  2. Send anonymously - The user can opt not to put in their name and email and send their message anonymously. This will post their message to the conversation, but it won't be attributed to anyone. The name on their message will be "anonymous."

    • In this case, the user will not receive any emails from Clarityflow. They won't be notified when new replies have been posted to the Clarityflow conversation.

  3. Sign in & send - If the user knows that they've previously registered for Clarityflow, but isn't currently logged in, they can click "Sign in & send this message" then input their email and password to complete the sending of their message. This will attribute their message to them.

Bypassing the popup user prompt

Clarityflow has a system for identifying registered users—even if they're not currently logged-in—which makes for a more seamless experience and reduces the need to constantly log back in to send a message.

Here's how it works:

First, this only works if the user's email address has been registered as a user. This can happen in any number of ways:

  • They sign up for a Clarityflow trial

  • They're invited as a team member to your Clarityflow account

  • They're invited as a guest user to your Clarityflow (meaning you can simply create the invitation without sending the invitation. Creating, or preparing an invitation alone, would create the respondent user and register their email address in Clarityflow's systems).

  • The person previously submitted a message via an intake page, saw the popup prompt (see above), and chose the "Register & send" option when sending their message.

  • The person previously replied to a public conversation, saw the popup prompt (see above), and chose the "Register & send" option when sending their message.

Then, anytime the URL parameter ?viewer=email is appended to the end of a public URL in Clarityflow, and the specified email matches the email address of a registered user in Clarityflow, then Clarityflow will assume that this is the user viewing the page, and this is the user who the message should be attributed to.

For example, if the registered user's email address is casjamtest3@gmail.com and this user views an intake page with ?viewer=casjamtest3@gmail.com appended to the URL, then that user will see this:

Identified user

When that user submits a message, they will not see the popup prompt and their message will be attributed to them.

That same system of appending ?viewer=email to pre-identify a user works when viewing any of the following:

  • Viewing a conversation (when it's publicly viewable to anyone with the link)

  • Viewing an intake page

  • Viewing an HTML iframe (the src URL must include the ?viewer=email parameter).

  • Viewing a product page or purchase page

Also, anytime anyone receives an email notification from Clarityflow, which is associated with a conversation—for example when someone has posted a reply to a conversation or when someone has viewed your message in a conversation—the buttons that point from this email notification to the conversation will also include the ?viewer=email parameter, making it easy for you to move from your email notification over to a conversation without needing to log in each time.

Disabling the viewer=email system

Don't want to use the ?viewer=email system? No problem. You can disable this functionality in your account settings > "Conversations & Messages" > Turn off the option for "Allow identifying message author when their email address is in the URL" then click "Update."

Disabling the viewer identification system
This guide details one of the many features of Clarityflow, the coaching software that powers modern coaching practices of all types. Learn more about Clarityflow.