Note: "Blacklist" and "Whitelist" were renamed to "Exclude List" and "Include List," respectively, on June 15, 2020. This rename only occurs in the UI at this time. Pendo will continue to work on updates to our API and code base language as a part of our efforts toward better inclusion.
Pendo offers multiple ways to to keep your analytics clean of unwanted data. Pendo encourages you to use Exclude Lists, as there is a higher likelihood of discovering configuration issues.
Exclude List
Exclude List is a subscription-wide setting accessible by your Pendo Admins in Settings > Exclude & Include Lists. You can have up to 10,000 items on your Exclude List.
Pendo calculates metrics using events collected. Exclude List filters out events from the metrics and details calculation for all Segments (except Excluded Accounts and Visitors) that match at least one of the filter settings: Server Host/Domain, Source IP Address, Visitor ID, and Account ID.
Note: Exclude List doesn't affect visitor guide eligibility. Excluded visitors are still able to see and interact with guides, but those events will be filtered out of the metrics.
Exclude by Host/Domain
The Server Host/Domain section allows you to block specific host/domains. You can also add wildcards such as "dev*" or "*:3000."
Exclude by IP address
The IP address allows you to block specific IP addresses of locations, for example, your home or office. You can use the Detect My IP button after selecting on Add IP Address.
Exclude by Visitor ID
You can exclude any visitor by adding their Visitor ID from the Exclude List page or by selecting Exclude Visitor from the Details section of that visitor. From the Exclude List page, you can also use wildcards. For example, if your Visitor IDs are email addresses, you could use *@acme.com to exclude all visitors that have an @acme.com in their ID.
Exclude by Account ID
You can exclude an entire account at a time. So for example, if your employees all log in under "YourCompany" account, you can exclude the full "YourCompany" account to clean out all of that data. Similar to Visitor IDs, you can use wildcards to exclude a certain pattern of Account IDs, for example, AcmeIndustries_*.
Note: Excluded events don't update the account list, update the first or last visit time, or associate the visitor event activity with the account. This is the behavior only if the event matches at least one of the exclude filters at the time it's received.
Metadata processing for excluded filters
Pendo processes metadata events immediately at the time of receipt. Unlike recalculating metrics when exclude filters change, Pendo never "recalculates" metadata. The following describes the metadata processing behavior for events matching Exclude List filters.
Even if the Exclude List filters change, the effect of the following will remain. This effect depends on the state of the Exclude List at the time Pendo receives the event.
- Agent or API defined metadata values for visitors and accounts always update immediately.
- Metadata values applicable to guide segmentation continue to affect guide eligibility.
- First Visit and Last Visit Account (automatic) metadata values don't update.
- If a visitor isn't already associated with an Account ID, an excluded event doesn't create an association between the Visitor ID and Account ID. This affects Account ID and Account IDs of a visitor and the Visitor List on the Account Details page. Despite this potentially missing association, if an exclude filter changes to expose previously excluded events, the detail view of an account includes the events in the metrics and list the Visitor ID, which could be missing the association in the visitor's Account ID field.
"Excluded Accounts and Visitors" segment
This segment shows a list of visitors or accounts that have at least one event matching a current exclude filter for the time range specified. The metrics on the Accounts Overview and Visitors Overview pages (including summary and column data) represent the values of the excluded events of visitors or accounts listed. Even though these visitors are listed and you can navigate to the Visitor Details page, the metrics still omit excluded events.
Include List
You can include data according to the same dimensions as exclude data. The Include List performs the exact opposite operation. When enabled, data from only server hosts and domains you specify are analyzed.
To switch from Exclude List to Include List, select Convert to Include List next to + Exclude Server Host/Domain. You are then given two options for your current Exclude List settings:
- Clear List. This removes all Exclude List settings in that specific filter.
- Transfer List. This allows you to keep a record of the current settings you've defined.
Once you switch, you might need to make additional adjustments.
If you plan to use Include List and have NPS email backup enabled, add app.pendo.io (or app.eu.pendo.io) to the Include List; otherwise, those responses only appear when filtering by the Excluded Visitors and Accounts segment.