Segments - OneSignal

A segment is a dynamic group of users defined by filters on Subscription attributes, behavior, and custom data. OneSignal segments update automatically as users interact with your app or site, with no extra tracking required. Use segments to target messages, exclude audiences, and trigger Journeys.

User-based segmentation is in beta. With it, segments contain users instead of Subscriptions. See User-based segmentation.

Push notifications, emails, and SMS messages are only sent to opted-in (subscribed) Subscriptions. The segment editor shows both subscribed and unsubscribed counts for transparency, but only subscribed Subscriptions receive messages when you target a segment. In-App Messages are displayed to all mobile Subscriptions, regardless of status.When used in Journeys, all Subscriptions in a segment, regardless of status, are evaluated to their respective Users and those users are entered into the Journey.

Segment types

The OneSignal platform supports two main categories of segments:

Subscription-based segments

Subscription-based segments are built using filters on Subscription attributes, such as device type, language, or app version.

Event-based segments

Event-based segments are built using filters on user-level activity rather than individual Subscriptions. A segment is event-based when it includes message event or Custom Event filters. You can add other filter types, such as tags and session filters, to the same segment. Examples include:

When a user last opened an email, SMS, or push notification sent via OneSignal.
Specific Custom Events tracked in your app or website.

An event-based segment includes all users who meet the criteria and automatically makes all of their Subscriptions eligible to be targeted, enabling richer audience definitions that can reach any of the user’s devices.

Creating segments

Segments can be created in the dashboard, via the API, or by uploading a CSV. Target your audience by including and excluding segments when sending messages or building Journeys.

Dashboard

Create and manage segments from Audience > Segments.

API

Create segments programmatically using the Create Segment API.

CSV Import

Bulk-import Subscriptions and Tags via CSV, then build segments that match them.

Create a segment in the dashboard

Go to Audience > Segments

Navigate to the Segments page in the dashboard.

Segments page showing list of segments — Segments page

Click New Segment

Opens the segment creation interface.

Segment creation interface showing filter options and segment name field — Segment creation interface

Add filters, name the segment, and click Create Segment

Add filters to define your audience criteria.
Name the segment.
Enter a Description (optional). Click Add description below the segment name (up to 255 characters).
Click Create Segment.

Segment creation interface with filters added and a segment name entered — Segment with filters and a name

Segment logic: AND vs OR

Use AND to combine filters that all must match. Use OR to match any of multiple conditions.

AND example
OR example

Create a segment of users who:

Have been active within the last 30 days
Have at least 3 total sessions

Filters

Filters define which Subscriptions belong to a segment. You can combine multiple filters using AND or OR logic. If no filters are selected, the segment defaults to every user of your app.

Filter	Description
First session	The first time OneSignal saw this user active on any device, including email or SMS. Equivalent to the user’s `created_at` timestamp.
Last session	The last time OneSignal saw this user active on any SDK-tracked device.
Session count	Number of times Subscription opened the app or visited the site. See Sessions.
Usage duration	Total seconds the Subscription had your app/site open.
Language	User’s preferred language (based on device/browser). See multi-language support.
App version	Pulled from Android `versionCode` or iOS `CFBundleShortVersionString`. Combine with Device type to filter by different app versions per platform. See Target outdated app versions.
Device type	iOS, Android, Web Push (browser), Email, etc. Select multiple device types in one filter with “is any of”, or exclude them with “is not any of”.
User tag	Custom Tags you set via the SDK or API. See Add Tags.
Location	Filter by radius from coordinates (lat/long). Requires at least 1 meter and up to 2 decimal places of precision. See location permission.
Country	Based on last IP geolocation (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code).
Test users	Users marked as Test Users.
Message event	Filter by message event (e.g., “clicked”, “delivered”, “failed”). See Message event filters.
Custom event	Filter by custom event (e.g., “purchase”, “user login”). See Custom event filters.

Event-based filters

Event-based filters target users by the actions they take, both interactions with your OneSignal messages and custom events you send to OneSignal.

Message event filters

Message event filters target users based on their interaction with one of your messaging channels within a certain window. See Message events for the full event catalog and conceptual reference.

Message event filter options showing channel, action, and time window selectors — Message event filters

First select the messaging channel you want to filter on, then specify the action to track and whether the user has or has not performed that action. You can specify a minimum, maximum, or exact number of times the user must have performed the action, as well as a time window ranging from the last 24 hours to the last 90 days. Use the between option to define a custom start and end range (in days ago).

Trackable interactions by channel

Channel	Trackable interactions
Push	Delivered, Confirmed Receipt, Clicked, Failed
SMS	Delivered, Read, Failed
Email	Delivered, Opened, Clicked, Bounced, Failed, Suppressed, Reported as spam
In-App	Impression, Clicked

Segments with message event filters are event-based. Outside Journeys, you cannot include or exclude them with segments that have no message event or custom event filters. See Can I combine custom event or message event segments with other segments? for the dashboard and API rules.

Message event retention

The amount of time message event data is retained depends on your plan. The dashboard time window selector shows up to 90 days, but data beyond your plan’s retention period will not return results.

Retention by plan

Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise retention windows for message event data.

Custom event filters

Custom Event filters let you target users based on meaningful actions they have taken in your app, website, or external systems. Custom event filters read stored events. Turn on storage for each event you segment on.

Custom event filter options showing event type and property selectors — Custom event filters

Start by selecting:

The event name you want to filter on.
Whether the user has or has not performed that action.
The minimum, maximum, or exact number of times the action must be performed.
A time window during which the action must (or must not) occur. Choose a preset range or define a custom window using the between option (start and end in days ago).

After specifying the event, you can optionally filter on specific or multiple properties:

all: applies an AND condition across properties.
at least one: applies an OR condition.

Then set the properties you want to filter on using dot notation.

Custom Events are represented as JSON Objects.
See Custom Events for more details.

Example

Given the following Custom Event:

{
  "events": [
    {
      "name": "cart_updated",
      "properties": {
        "product_name": "24 Pack of Acorns",
        "product_price": 12.99,
        "product_quantity": 2
      },
      "external_id": "ID_OF_THE_USER"
    }
  ]
}

You can filter by:

product_name → to target users with product name 24 Pack of Acorns.
product_price → to target users with a product price greater than 10.
product_quantity → to target users with a product quantity of 2 or more.

Custom event filter example showing product name, image, price, quantity, and cart URL — Custom event filter example

You can add other filter types to the same segment, including message events, tags, and session filters.

Segments with custom event filters are event-based. Outside Journeys, you cannot include or exclude them with segments that have no message event or custom event filters. See Can I combine custom event or message event segments with other segments? for the dashboard and API rules.

Custom event best practices

Shape event properties for Segment filters and see an example Segment for each event.

Audience counts

The segment editor shows how many subscribed and unsubscribed Subscriptions are in your segment, with a breakdown by channel (push, email, and SMS).

Subscribed Subscriptions are opted in and will receive messages when you target this segment.
Unsubscribed Subscriptions match your segment filters but are opted out and will not receive messages.

The channel breakdown lets you see reachable vs. unreachable Subscriptions per channel, which helps you understand which channels will be most effective before you build a message or Journey.

Audience counts showing subscribed and unsubscribed counts by channel — Audience counts

Exact counts and estimates

OneSignal always returns a count within approximately 15 seconds. Whenever possible within that time limit, you will see an exact count. For large or complex segments where exact counts can take a long time to compute, an estimate is shown instead. Estimates are labeled to make clear they are not exact:

Segment size	Format	Example
Above 10,000	Count with margin of error	`140,000 +/- 5,000`
Below 10,000	Less-than value	`<4,800`

Both formats are rounded to signal the number is approximate. Estimates will never display as 0: if your segment has very few members, the estimate reflects a small non-zero estimate to avoid implying the segment is empty when records may exist.

Segments with message event or custom event filters show counts on the Segments page once they finish processing. The segment editor doesn’t show a live estimate for them.

Managing segments

When viewing your Segments in the dashboard, you can:

View Subscriptions: See which Subscriptions are in the segment.
Copy segment ID: Copy the segment ID to use in the API.
Edit: Change filters or name.
Pause / Resume: Pause a segment to keep its configuration without it counting toward your Segment limit. Targeting a paused segment will fail.
Set as default: Set a default segment to be auto-selected when sending a new message. This helps reduce targeting mistakes and save time.
Duplicate: Copy a segment’s filters to create a new one.
View Audit Logs: See the audit logs for who may have changed a segment and when.
Delete: Delete the segment.

Segment limit

Your plan determines how many segments you can have at one time. Only active (non-paused) segments count toward this limit. Paused segments stay in your account but do not count, so you can pause segments you no longer use instead of deleting them. To free up capacity:

Pause segments you may want to use again later. The filter configuration is preserved and the segment can be resumed at any time.
Delete segments you no longer need.

See the pricing page for the segment limit on each plan.

Deleting segments

Deleting a segment removes it from your list of segments. It does not delete the users inside it. To delete the users inside a segment, see Delete Users.

Dashboard
API

Go to Audience > Segments
Click the three-dot menu next to a segment
Select Delete

Three-dot options menu on a segment showing Edit, Pause, Duplicate, and Delete actions — Segment options menu

FAQ

Can I manually add specific users to a segment?

Not directly. Segments are dynamic groups defined by filters, so there is no option to hand-pick individual members. To group specific users:

Add a shared Tag to those users via the SDK, the API, or a CSV import.
Create a segment with a User tag filter matching that tag.

The CSV importer can also do both steps at once: enable Automatically create a Segment on the Review screen to tag every imported user and create a matching segment. To test with a small group, such as your own team’s devices, mark those devices as Test Users and create a segment with the Test Users filter.

How do I add myself to a segment?

Set yourself as a Test User or add a custom Tag, then create a segment that targets it.

Find your Subscriptions using your External ID.
Either:
- Set yourself as a Test User
- Add a custom Tag
Create a segment using the Test Users filter or the Tag.

Do segment counts include opted-out users?

Yes. The segment editor shows counts for both subscribed and unsubscribed Subscriptions. Subscribed Subscriptions are opted in and will receive messages. Unsubscribed Subscriptions match your filters but are opted out and will not receive messages. Only subscribed Subscriptions are targeted when you send a message. When used in Journeys and in-app messages, segments include both subscribed and unsubscribed Subscriptions.

Are segment counts always accurate?

OneSignal always returns a count within approximately 15 seconds. For smaller or simpler segments, this is an exact count. For larger or more complex segments, an estimate is shown instead. Estimates are clearly labeled with their precision. See Audience counts for details on how estimates are formatted and what they mean.

Can I combine custom event or message event segments with other segments?

Yes, with some send-time limits. A custom event segment can include other filter types such as message events, tags, and session filters. When sending messages outside of Journeys, you cannot include or exclude event-based segments (custom event or message event) with segments that have no event filters. In the dashboard, you can send custom event segments and message event segments together. The API accepts message event segments only with other message event segments, and custom event segments only with other custom event segments. Inside Journeys, you can combine event-based segments with any other segments.

Does the segment limit count paused segments?

No. Only active (non-paused) segments count toward your plan’s segment limit. Pause segments you no longer use to free up capacity without losing the filter configuration. See Segment limit for details.

User-based segmentation

Beta: segments of users that work across every channel.

Subscriptions

The push, email, and SMS records segments target.

Add user data tags

Tag users with custom data so segments can filter on it.

Custom Events

Send user actions to OneSignal for use in segments and Journeys.

Message events

Per-user record of message interactions, the basis of message event filters.

Journeys overview

Trigger automated workflows from segment membership.

Import users

Bulk-import users and Tags via CSV.

​Segment types

​Subscription-based segments

​Event-based segments

​Creating segments

Dashboard

API

CSV Import

​Create a segment in the dashboard

​Segment logic: AND vs OR

​Filters

​Event-based filters

​Message event filters

​Trackable interactions by channel

​Message event retention

Retention by plan

​Custom event filters

​Example

Custom event best practices

​Audience counts

​Exact counts and estimates

​Managing segments

​Segment limit

​Deleting segments

​FAQ

​Can I manually add specific users to a segment?

​How do I add myself to a segment?

​Do segment counts include opted-out users?

​Are segment counts always accurate?

​Can I combine custom event or message event segments with other segments?

​Does the segment limit count paused segments?

​Related pages

User-based segmentation

Subscriptions

Add user data tags

Custom Events

Message events

Journeys overview

Import users

Segment types

Subscription-based segments

Event-based segments

Creating segments

Create a segment in the dashboard

Segment logic: AND vs OR

Filters

Event-based filters

Message event filters

Trackable interactions by channel

Message event retention

Custom event filters

Example

Audience counts

Exact counts and estimates

Managing segments

Segment limit

Deleting segments

FAQ

Can I manually add specific users to a segment?

How do I add myself to a segment?

Do segment counts include opted-out users?

Are segment counts always accurate?

Can I combine custom event or message event segments with other segments?

Does the segment limit count paused segments?

Related pages