Reader Identification

Reader identification is the process by which the Joomag Viewer determines a reader’s email address and stores it with that reader’s analytics. Once a reader is identified, the publisher can analyze reader behavior against a real email address instead of an anonymous visitor.

Note

Identification only enriches analytics. Identified emails are not automatically added to your CRM — they are available in your Reader Analytics only.

How identification behaves

• First identification wins. Once a reader has been identified, they cannot be re‑identified in the same session. For example, if a reader is identified as mail1@example.com (via login) and later submits a form with mail2@example.com, they remain identified as mail1@example.com.
• The account owner is never identified. When you (the account owner) open your own publication, your activity is not tracked, so you are not identified.

Where to find identified readers

In your Reader Analytics:

• Search — if you know the reader’s email, search for it directly in the readers table.
• Secondary dimension — to list identified readers, add email as a secondary dimension on the readers table.

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Identification methods

Joomag offers several ways to identify a reader. Some happen automatically based on your publication’s configuration; others you trigger yourself by how you build the link to the publication.

Automatic methods (based on publication configuration)

Method	When the reader is identified
Subscriber form	The publication has subscriptions enabled and the reader fills out the subscription form.
Custom form	The publication has a custom form and the reader fills it out (whether the form is attached through the publication’s Form settings or through privacy settings).
Feedback form	The publication has the feedback form enabled and the reader leaves their email there.
Reader login	The publication’s privacy requires the reader to log in; the reader is identified after a successful login.
User login	A reader who has a Joomag account opens the publication while logged in.

Link-based methods (you control)

These let you identify a reader you already know — typically when you link to a publication from your own email campaign, portal, or website.

Query parameter

Append the reader’s email as the _jr_email query parameter on the publication link. You can optionally pass _jr_name to set the reader’s name.

https://viewer.joomag.com/january/0782414001612984709?_jr_email=yoyo@example.com&_jr_name=YoYo

Remember to URL‑encode parameter values (for example, @ becomes %40):

https://viewer.joomag.com/january/0782414001612984709?_jr_email=yoyo%40example.com&_jr_name=YoYo

This is the simplest method, but the email is visible in the URL. For a tamper‑proof alternative, use a signed JWT (below).

Signed JWT (recommended for security)

For secure identification, pass a signed JWT as the jrd query parameter:

https://viewer.joomag.com/january/0782414001612984709?jrd=<your-signed-jwt>

Signing. Sign the token using HS256, with your account’s API key as the secret. (You can find your API key in your account settings.)

Payload structure:

{
  "iss": "joomag-platform",
  "iat": 1741111473,
  "exp": 1756104273,
  "data": {
    "reader_email": "reader@example.com",
    "properties": {
      "name": "John Doe"
    }
  }
}

Claim	Description
iat	Issued‑at time (Unix seconds).
exp	Expiry time (Unix seconds). Keep tokens short‑lived.
data.reader_email	The email the reader will be identified by. Required.
data.properties	Optional key/value reader properties (for example, name) stored with the reader.

Auto‑login. Add "auto_login": true inside data to automatically log the reader in (useful when the publication is access‑restricted and the reader is already authenticated on your side):

{
  "iss": "joomag-platform",
  "iat": 1741111473,
  "exp": 1756104273,
  "data": {
    "auto_login": true,
    "reader_email": "john.smith@example.com"
  }
}

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Reacting to identification in the browser

When a reader is identified, the Joomag Viewer emits a joomag.reader.identified event you can listen for, and exposes it to Google Tag Manager and Ensighten. See Reader Events & Tag Manager Integration for the event payload and integration examples.