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Edit and update data

How to update your data automatically, and best practices for manually updating data.

Beth-Ann Sher avatar
Written by Beth-Ann Sher
Updated this week

You can update your user data in a number of ways. Most updates can be handled automatically by Intercom, but you can also update your data manually. In this guide, we'll cover how to update data using:

  • The JavaScript snippet 

  • Mobile SDKs

  • Apps

  • Qualification data

  • REST API

  • CSV Imports

If you use the 'Prevent company attribute updates on Messenger' feature, it will prevent the company from being linked to users in your workspace.

How data is automatically updated

With the JavaScript snippet, or mobile SDKs

Once you’ve installed Intercom in your product, your user data updates every time a user logs in. Updates can include:

  • Standard attributes: Email, Last seen, Web Sessions, OS, Company Plan and more.

  • Custom attributes. Any custom data you add. For example: Projects created, Subscription level, or Follower count.

  • Events, like upgrading their subscription or using a feature.

We’ll also update the segment badges you see on a user’s profile each time they log in to your app 👇

With apps

You can automatically sync your Intercom data with other platforms using apps and integrations. For example:

  • When a user unsubscribes from an email sent through Mailchimp or Marketo, you can automatically update their unsubscribe status in Intercom.

  • You can get more context on your users with Stripe data updated in your Intercom workspace.

  • You can automatically sync your lead data and activity with Salesforce

You can also build your own apps to update your users’ data automatically.


How to manually update data

With qualification data

Qualification data is a special set of attributes you can update manually in Intercom as you chat with leads and users. It’s also a great way to manage attributes that need regular manual updates like a lead’s status in your sales pipeline.

When updating a contact's Name, it's possible to experience a delay with the changes. This is due to the Contact list being pulled from a different database.

You can also update qualification data automatically using Workflows.

With a CSV Import

To manually update your users and leads in bulk, you can use a CSV import. You can also tag users in bulk during the import process. Read more about using our CSV import tool here

Company data cannot be imported or updated with a CSV import. You can only update user data with this method. Company data can only be updated by manually editing the data on the company profile or via the REST API.

With the REST API or Zapier

For any other updates, we recommend using our REST API. With some custom development you can:

  • Set up regularly scheduled updates.

  • Build your own dashboard or interface for manual updates of your user data.

  • Connect Intercom to other apps or services you use, including your own product.

If you don’t have a developer available to you or prefer a less technical option, you can do a lot of these things with third party services like Zapier. If you use a service like Zapier, and come across any issues, you should reach out to their support team directly.

One thing to note about methods CSV and REST API: When users log in, the data sent from your integration to Intercom will overwrite the values you've set with API/CSV import. For this reason, your app's database should always be the primary source of truth for your users' data (you'll want to update stuff in your app before updating in Intercom).


💡Tip

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