Add “Last Active” Attribute to Customer Object

🔍 Problem Statement

As a digital publisher, I lack visibility into a user's recent activity unless they explicitly log in, which results in limited ability to identify inactive users and engage them proactively to reduce churn.

💡 User Story

As a publisher, I want to track the most recent time a user was active on the site, so that I can identify disengaged users and trigger personalized re-engagement campaigns.

As a marketer, I want to segment users based on their last seen activity, so that I can automate emails or offers targeting users who haven’t returned in a set period.

🎯 Definition of Done (DoD)

✔ Given an authenticated session, when a user interacts with the site, then a new last_active timestamp is updated on their user table every time any of the private open API end points are used.

✔ This change will impact the API and Back-end Integration, specifically the user object, adding a new last_active field that updates on qualifying user activity (e.g., session refresh or page interaction).
✔ Last active should be visible in the customer exports

✔ Last active should be visible on the platform

✔ Last active should be available on the JS-SDK user object level

✔ Last active should be available on the API and Webhook

✔ This solution will include the following limitations:

– Updates only occur for authenticated users with valid sessions.

– Writes may be throttled or debounced to prevent high-frequency updates (e.g., not more than once every 5 minutes).

– last_active does not apply to anonymous users or incognito traffic.

🔍 Clarifying Questions

1. What is the intended use case for last_active or last_active?

2. Is it for analytics (e.g. daily active users), support (e.g. checking recent user activity), personalization, etc.?

3. How frequently should last_active be updated?

4. Every page view? On specific pages only? Once per session?

5. Where should this tracking happen?

6. Only when authenticated (token present)? Or even for anonymous users?

7. Should it be stored on the user object?

8. Or as a separate activity log (e.g. to prevent race conditions or too-frequent writes)?

9. What is the proposed name for this field?

10. Should it still be last_active, or something like last_active, last_interaction, etc.?

11. Regarding last_login:

12. Do you want to replace the behavior of last_login, or introduce last_active alongside it?

13. Should last_login now reflect any session refresh, even if the user didn’t explicitly re-login?

14. Any performance concerns or write-limiting rules?

15. Should we debounce updates (e.g. once per 5 minutes)?

16. Should it only update if the timestamp has changed meaningfully?