The server owns PostHog delivery, opt-out, and identity for every connected client. Identity selection hashes an available provider account ID, falling back to an installation-scoped ID. This identity can span several clients; it does not identify a browser session. Clients do not load the PostHog browser SDK. Client-use events require an authenticated connection, so visiting the hosted app without connecting does not count as product use.
Client dimensions belong to the event's WebSocket connection. A server-global "current client" would misattribute simultaneous web, desktop, and mobile use. Provider execution has its own events because a turn can outlive the requesting connection.
Keep client and server dimensions separate. A desktop host can serve a phone or a
remote browser, and a direct connection can cross a network. Older clients omit
metadata. Missing client values must stay unknown rather than being backfilled
from server properties. The legacy clientType property describes how the server
runs; use surface for the connected client.
Use client.turn.requested for active-use reports. client.connected counts
reconnects, so network behavior can inflate it. One identity can appear in several
client groups during a period; adding those groups double-counts users.
Provider send and completion counts need not match. Providers can emit synthetic turns without a send request. Collection is best effort, with no scan or backfill of provider history.
Token totals cover the main agent. Child agents and model rerouting prevent a turn from representing one provider/model combination's full cost. For provider comparisons, require complete usage, no observed subagents, and no mixed models; compare matching model, effort, interaction mode, and terminal status. Aggregate output/input ratios should divide the summed totals. Averaging per-turn ratios lets small-input turns dominate.
Unknown counts stay absent. Partial usage contains valid observed counts but cannot establish a whole-turn total. Keep these distinctions when changing token normalization or building reports.
Keep analytics payloads to product metadata and normalized measurements. Do not send prompts, authentication material, raw provider payloads, user-assigned device names, or conversation identifiers. Client metadata is best effort; invalid values must not reject a connection. PostHog person profiles remain disabled.