Understanding the primary email source for a user account helps identify how an email address was added and where updates should be made when changes are needed. Below, we explain the possible primary email sources and how to update email addresses.

Primary Email Source

When viewing a user in Studio, if they have an email address then an attribute Primary Email Source will show.

• Admin: Email address was created in Studio by an admin for an individual user.

• API: Email address originated from the Partner API user sync method.

• Bulk Upload: Email address was added via a users bulk upload in Studio.

• Spacestation: Email address originated from Spacestation through the CSV over SFTP upload user sync method.

• SSO: Email address was provided via SAML assertion when the user signed in through Single Sign-On (SSO).

• User: User registered independently by clicking "Join Now" and entering their email address as part of email/password registration with user verification.

• – (Unknown): Rarely, the primary email source may not align with any of the above. This typically results from manual data correction performed by engineering services.

Note: If a user’s primary email source shows as one that is not relevant to your community, it may have been merged from another community where the user exists with the same email address. In cases like these, accounts with the same email address across multiple communities are automatically merged.

Updating Primary Email

Email address updates can be made via the following methods:

• Admin: Update directly in Studio through the user management interface.

• API: Update via the Partner API sync method.

• Spacestation: Update through a new CSV file uploaded over SFTP via the Spacestation user sync method.

• SSO: Update the email address in the identity provider (IdP) used for SSO, then the updated address will be asserted on the next SSO login.

The following sources cannot be used to update email:

• Bulk Upload: Email cannot be updated via bulk upload.

• User: Email cannot be updated by the user via their profile in the member experience.

Important: When a primary email address is updated, the old email address remains stored and is still considered "taken" by the account. If that old email address needs to be used for a new account, one of the following actions must be taken:

• The user must be forgotten using the GDPR "Forget User" feature, then recreated.

• The old email address must be deleted as a service by Firstup support.

Critical Consideration: Primary email addresses should always be updated via a user sync method (either CSV upload or API). Updates made through other methods are likely to be overwritten by the next user sync. Additionally, it is essential to ensure that the email address in a user's SAML data from SSO aligns with the data provided by user sync sources to avoid discrepancies and login issues.

Limitations on Updating Primary Email via SFTP: Primary email addresses cannot be updated if they are used as an answer to user verification questions or if they are designated as the unique identifier (instead of Universal Identifer/Employee ID) in user sync attribute settings. In these cases:

• Email address must be updated via SCIM API if you have access to this method.

• The user must be forgotten using the GDPR "Forget User" feature, then recreated.

• Email address must be updated as a service by Firstup support.

For any questions or if you encounter discrepancies in primary email sources, please reach out to support for guidance.