GA4 user explorer: looking at single users
Most of GA4 works with totals. The user explorer goes the other way: it lists the individual users behind a number and shows one user's events in order. This guide covers how to open it, what the list and each user's page show, which ID you are looking at, how to turn a timeline into a segment, and the privacy and data limits, using what Google documents.
This guide is built from Analytics Help: User explorer, Reporting identity, User-ID, Get started with Explorations, About data thresholds and Data retention. The other exploration techniques are covered in our GA4 explorations guide, and sending your own account IDs is covered in our GA4 User-ID guide.
What the user explorer is for
Google describes it as a way to "select specific groups of users" and "drill down on each individual user's activities." The examples it gives are troubleshooting "a specific user flow", such as seeing "where a user ran into trouble with placing an order", and looking at a user with an unusually high average order value.
For a business website that usually means checking a journey you can't explain from totals: a lead that came in with an odd source, a funnel step people seem to skip, or a test of your own form after a change. It is not a way to identify customers. GA4 shows IDs, not names, and the next sections explain which IDs.
Opening a user explorer
There are two ways in:
- From the template. In Explore, click Template Gallery on the right of Start a new exploration and select User explorer.
- From another exploration. In a free form, funnel or path exploration, right-click a data point and choose View users. A new tab opens with the users behind that point. The settings of the original tab (dimensions, filters, segments, date range) come along "as a temporary segment", shown with a dashed border on the left. Click it to edit or save it.
The second route is usually the useful one: right-click the drop-off in a funnel exploration or a branch in a path exploration and you get the list of users who did exactly that.
The user list
The first view is a table of users. Google says "Device ID and Stream Name are required and are the only dimensions possible", so you can't add page or source columns. You can change the metrics in the Values section of Tab Settings. The rest of the settings:
- Rows. By default the table shows "your top 10 users by sessions." Show rows changes how many appear, Start row sets where the list begins, and clicking a metric column sorts by it.
- Cell type. Plain text, bar chart or heat map.
- Segment. Drag a segment from the Variables panel to the segment target to list only those users. Our GA4 segments guide covers building one.
- Filter. Filter on dimensions or metrics. With several conditions, Google applies them "using AND logic."
- Date range. Set in the Variables panel, with an option to compare to a previous period.
One user's page and timeline
Click a row to open that user. Google says the page shows "how, when, and where this user was acquired", summary metrics for the user, and "a timeline of events triggered by that user on your site or app grouped by date."
The TIMELINE options on the left let you show only selected events, switch between a collapsed and expanded list, and change the sort order. That makes it a practical place to confirm that a form submission or purchase event fired for a real visit. For checking events while you test, DebugView is built for the job.
Which ID you are looking at
Google says each row "represents a unique user based on the reporting identity selected for the property", identified as the "Effective user ID":
| ID | Where it comes from | When the user explorer uses it |
|---|---|---|
| User ID | Your own ID for a signed-in user, sent with the data | When one is available |
| Client ID | The device ID on a website | When there is no User ID |
| App-instance ID | The device ID in a mobile app | When there is no User ID |
In Google's words, "The Effective user ID uses the User ID if one is available; otherwise, it uses the Device ID." On a website without sign-in, every row is a browser, not a person: the same customer on a phone and a laptop appears twice, and clearing cookies starts a new row. Which IDs count also depends on the property's reporting identity (Blended, Observed or Device based), which our User-ID guide explains along with the rules for the ID you send. Google's own rule is short: "Your user ID must not contain information that a third party could use to determine a user's identity."
From one user to a segment
A single user is an anecdote. To see whether others behave the same way, select one or more events in the timeline and click Create Segment in the upper right. Google says this creates "a segment of all users with a specific set of events". You can edit and save it, then use it in other explorations, for example applied to a funnel to see how common the pattern is. Our GA4 audiences guide covers turning a group like that into an audience.
Thresholds, retention and deleting a user
Three limits shape what you see:
- Data thresholds and sampling. Explorations are subject to data thresholds, so data "that might identify individual users" can be withheld, mainly when demographics or Google signals data are involved. Explorations "may be based on sampled data if more than 10 million events are part of a particular exploration query." The icon in the top right turns from green to yellow when either applies. You can't switch thresholds off; Google suggests a wider date range when user counts are low. With the Blended or Observed reporting identity, Google says reports "are subject to data thresholds" too.
- Data retention. The retention setting "only affects explorations and funnel reports", and Google says properties keep 2 months of data by default. A standard property can set user-level data to 2 or 14 months. If your user explorer stops at two months back, this is why; see our data retention guide.
- Deleting a user. The user explorer is also where you delete one user's data, for example after a customer asks you to. Select the Effective user ID, click the Delete user icon and confirm. You need the Editor role or above, and Google warns: "Requesting deletion of user data is not reversible." The steps, including deleting by pseudonymous ID, are in our data retention guide.
How we use it
This part is our own practice, not Google guidance. On sites we set up, we open the user explorer in two situations. After launching or changing a form, we submit a test enquiry, find our own visit through View users on the key event, and check the timeline shows the events we expect. And when a funnel shows a drop we can't explain, we look at a handful of users at that step before changing the page. We treat it as a quick look at a few journeys, not as a report, and we don't export or keep user-level lists. For the bigger picture we go back to key events and the standard reports.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the user explorer in GA4?
In Explore. Click Template Gallery next to Start a new exploration and pick User explorer, or right-click a data point in another exploration and choose View users.
What ID does the user explorer show?
The Effective user ID. Google says it uses your User ID if one is available, otherwise the Device ID, which is the client ID on a website or the app-instance ID in an app.
Can I see a user's name or email in the user explorer?
No. GA4 shows IDs, not people. Google's User-ID rules say the ID you send must not contain information a third party could use to identify the user.
Why does the user explorer only go back two months?
Explorations are limited by the property's data retention setting, which Google says is 2 months by default. A standard property can change it to 14 months under Data retention in Admin.
Can I undo deleting a user in the user explorer?
No. Google warns that requesting deletion of user data is not reversible. The data stops showing within 24 hours and is permanently removed within the next 63 days.
For more GA4 explorations, see our guides to cohort exploration, path exploration and funnel exploration.