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

# Mixpanel Glossary

> Definitions of Mixpanel and product analytics terms, from data tracking and privacy to growth metrics and product strategy, by category or A-Z

Use this glossary to get familiar with the concepts that power Mixpanel—from data tracking and privacy to growth metrics and product strategy.

Browse by category, or jump directly to the [A-Z list](#a-z-glossary).

***

## Browse by Category

> [accordion] Expand to view categories
>
> > [accordion] Analysis & Visualization Terms
> >
> > * [Annotation](#annotation)
> > * [Board](#board)
> > * [Formula](#formula)
>
> > [accordion] Business Models & Key Metrics
> >
> > * [Business to Business (B2B)](#business-to-business-b2b)
> > * [Business to Consumer (B2C)](#business-to-consumer-b2c)
> > * [Daily Active Users (DAU)](#daily-active-users-dau)
> > * [Weekly Active Users (WAU)](#weekly-active-users-wau)
> > * [Monthly Active Users (MAU)](#monthly-active-users-mau)
> > * [Month-over-Month (MOM)](#month-over-month-mom)
> > * [Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ)](#quarter-over-quarter-qoq)
> > * [Year-over-Year (YoY)](#year-over-year-yoy)
> > * [Net Promoter Score (NPS)](#net-promoter-score-nps)
> > * [Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)](#marketing-qualified-lead-mql)
> > * [Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)](#sales-qualified-lead-sql)
> > * [Stickiness](#stickiness)
>
> > [accordion] Compliance & Privacy Terms
> >
> > * [General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)](#general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr)
> > * [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)](#health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act-hipaa)
> > * [Business Associate Agreement (BAA)](#business-associate-agreement-baa)
> > * [Personally Identifying Information (PII)](#personally-identifying-information-pii)
> > * [Protected Health Information (PHI)](#protected-health-information-phi)
>
> > [accordion] Data & Technical Terms
> >
> > * [Autocapture](#autocapture)
> > * [Identity Management](#identity-management)
> > * [Ingestion](#ingestion)
> > * [Software Development Kit (SDK)](#software-development-kit-sdk)
> > * [First-party Cookies](#first-party-cookies)
> > * [Third-party Cookies](#third-party-cookies)
>
> > [accordion] Data Management Terms
> >
> > * [Data Lake](#data-lake)
> > * [Data Warehouse](#data-warehouse)
> > * [Groups](#groups)
> > * [Session](#session)
>
> > [accordion] Product Development Terms
> >
> > * [Feature Flag](#feature-flag)
> > * [Minimum Viable Product (MVP)](#minimum-viable-product-mvp)
> > * [Multivariate Test](#multivariate-test)
>
> > [accordion] Product & User Lifecycle Terms
> >
> > * [Active User](#active-user)
> > * [New User](#new-user)
> > * [Dormant User](#dormant-user)
> > * [Bounce Rate](#bounce-rate)

***

## A-Z Glossary

### Active User

A user who interacts with your product within a defined period, [measured via event-based tracking](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/data-structure/events-and-properties.md) as Daily Active Users (DAU), Weekly Active Users (WAU), or Monthly Active Users (MAU).

### Annotation

Contextual notes added to reports to [mark key events](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/features/annotations.md)—such as releases, campaigns, or anomalies—directly on the timeline.

### Autocapture

A low-code feature that [automatically collects](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/autocapture.md) standard user interactions—such as page views, clicks, form submissions, and scrolls—without the need for manual instrumentation.

### Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

A legal contract that [defines how vendors handle Protected Health Information (PHI)](https://mixpanel.com/legal/mixpanel-hipaa/) in compliance with HIPAA regulations.

### Business to Business (B2B)

A commercial model where products or services are sold to other companies rather than individual consumers.

### Business to Consumer (B2C)

A commercial model where products or services are sold directly to individual consumers rather than companies.

### Board

A collaborative workspace that [centralizes saved reports and metrics](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/boards) into a single view for real-time monitoring.

### Bounce Rate

A metric tracking the percentage of [sessions with only a single page view](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/features/sessions.md#what-are-the-average-number-of-pages-visited-per-session), often used to indicate low engagement or friction in the onboarding experience.

### Daily Active Users (DAU)

A metric tracking the number of distinct users who engage with your product in a single day, used to [measure daily engagement and growth](https://mixpanel.com/blog/daily-active-users/).

### Data Lake

A centralized repository that stores raw, unstructured data at scale, offering flexibility but requiring transformation before it can be utilized for analysis.

### Data Warehouse

A system optimized for storing structured data, which can be [ingested directly into Mixpanel](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/warehouse-connectors) for fast analysis and reporting.

### Dormant User

A user who engaged in a previous period but has not performed a key action in the current one, often [identified via cohort analysis](https://mixpanel.com/blog/cohort-analysis/) as targets for reactivation campaigns.

### Feature Flag

A configuration tool that [toggles feature availability](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/featureflags) for specific segments, enabling targeted rollouts and A/B testing without code deployment.

### First-party Cookies

A data file stored directly by the website the user is visiting, essential for maintaining persistent user identity and session continuity without relying on external trackers.

### Formula

A custom expression that [modifies or combines data series](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/reports/insights.md#formulas)—such as dividing total revenue by user count—to calculate derived metrics and ratios.

### General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

A comprehensive European Union regulation governing personal data privacy, supported in Mixpanel via [dedicated compliance tools](https://mixpanel.com/legal/mixpanel-gdpr/) for processing and deletion.

### Groups

A data structure that [aggregates user activity by entity](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/data-structure/group-analytics)—such as companies, teams, or devices—to analyze performance at the group level rather than the individual user level.

### Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

A United States federal law mandating the security and privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI), accommodated via [HIPAA-compliant plans](https://mixpanel.com/legal/mixpanel-hipaa/) for customers handling medical data.

### Identity Management

The process of associating events with specific users by [resolving unique identifiers](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/id-management), typically using the `identify()` method to merge anonymous activity into a unified profile across devices.

### Ingestion

The transmission of event data into the analytics platform, accepted via [client-side SDKs](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks), the [Ingestion API](https://docs.mixpanel.com/reference/ingestion-api.md), or [partner integrations](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/integrations).

### Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A prospect who has demonstrated sufficient engagement or fit to be [handed off to sales](https://mixpanel.com/blog/marketing-qualified-leads/) for further qualification.

### Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The most basic version of a product released to validate core assumptions and test concepts with real users before full-scale development.

### Monthly Active Users (MAU)

A metric tracking the number of distinct users who engage with a product within a 30-day window, used to [assess long-term growth trends](https://mixpanel.com/blog/mau/).

### Month-over-Month (MoM)

A comparative metric that measures the percentage change in performance between the current month and the previous one to identify growth momentum or seasonality.

### Multivariate Test

An experimentation method that [evaluates multiple variable combinations simultaneously](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/experiments)—rather than just two versions—to determine how different elements interact to influence user behavior.

### Net Promoter Score (NPS)

A standard loyalty metric that gauges customer satisfaction by asking users to rate their likelihood of recommending the product on a typical scale of 0 to 10.

### New User

A user who is recorded for the first time within a specific time window—such as a signup week or first session—tracked to measure acquisition success and onboarding efficacy.

### Protected Health Information (PHI)

Health-related data linked to a specific individual, which is [protected under HIPAA](https://mixpanel.com/legal/mixpanel-hipaa/) and requires a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for processing by vendors.

### Personally Identifying Information (PII)

Any data that can directly or indirectly distinguish a specific individual—such as names, emails, or IPs—often requiring [specific privacy configurations](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/privacy/protecting-user-data.md) to ensure data security.

### Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ)

A comparative metric that measures the percentage change in performance between one fiscal quarter and the previous one to gauge short-term business momentum.

### Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

A prospect who has been vetted by the sales team as ready for direct engagement, typically having graduated from the Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) stage based on strong intent or fit.

### Session

A set of continuous user interactions, [grouped into a single visit](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/features/sessions.md) based on a time-out window or specific start and end events.

### Software Development Kit (SDK)

A package of code libraries that simplifies the process of [sending event data](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks) from client-side or server-side applications to the analytics platform.

### Stickiness

A measurement of engagement frequency that [calculates how often users return](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/reports/retention.md) to perform key actions within a specific interval, used to assess habit formation and product utility.

### Third-party Cookies

Data files set by external domains for advertising or cross-site tracking, which are [distinct from the first-party approach](https://mixpanel.com/blog/cookies-consent-and-the-gdpr-the-role-of-privacy-in-a-product-analytics-strategy/) prioritized by modern analytics to ensure privacy and reliability.

### Weekly Active Users (WAU)

A metric tracking the number of distinct users who engage with a product within a seven-day window, often monitored to [measure weekly engagement habits](https://mixpanel.com/blog/mau/).

### Year-over-Year (YoY)

A comparative metric that measures performance against the same period in the previous year to identify long-term trends while controlling for seasonality.