Alias API in Kotlin SDK Alpha

Learn about the alias API call in Kotlin SDK.

  •   2 minute read  

This guide explains how to use the alias API in Kotlin SDK.

Overview

The Kotlin SDK provides an alias API that lets you merge different identities of a known user.

Note that:

  • You can use the alias event only for merging user identities. It does not update the user’s traits or other common properties.
  • RudderStack supports sending alias events only to certain downstream destinations. See the destination-specific documentation for more details.

Method definition

The alias method definition is as follows:

analytics.alias(
    newId = "<newId>",
    previousId = "<previousId>",
    options = RudderOption(),
)

// Alias event with newId
analytics.alias(newId = "<newId>")

// Alias event with newId and previousId
analytics.alias(
    newId = "<newId>",
    previousId = "<previousId>",
)

// Alias event with newId and options
analytics.alias(
    newId = "<newId>",
    options = RudderOption(
        customContext = buildJsonObject {
            put("key", "value")
        },
        integrations = buildJsonObject {
            put("Amplitude", true)
            put("INTERCOM", buildJsonObject {
                put("lookup", "phone")
            })
        },
        externalIds = listOf(
            ExternalId(type = "<id_type>", id = "<value>"),
        ),
    ),
)

The below table describes the alias method signature in detail:

FieldData typeDescription
newIdStringNew user identifier (userId) associated with the user.
previousIdStringThe old user identifier.

Note: If not provided explicitly, the SDK automatically populates this field with the current userId or anonymousId.
optionsRudderOptionAdditional event options.

A sample alias event sent from the Kotlin SDK is shown below:

analytics.alias(
    newId = "1hKOmRA4GRlm",
    previousId = "156K7m214GR2X",
    options = RudderOption(),
)

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