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Question

Do users get re-assigned from experiments if they no longer match targeting criteria?

  • March 26, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 7 views

I have two experiments, Experiment_A and Experiment_B

I have them set up with Flag Prerequisites https://amplitude.com/docs/feature-experiment/advanced-techniques/flag-prerequisites

 

Experiment_A has targeting like platform = Mobile

Experiment_B is dependent on Experiment_A = off and has targeting like platform = Desktop

 

Let’s say a multi-platform user is on Mobile at first and they are put into Experiment_A, but on a different session they are on Desktop.  Which outcome is true?

  1. The user is put into Experiment_A because of their past assignment
  2. The user is put into Experiment_B because they do not currently match Experiment_A, but they do match Experiment_B
  3. The user is put into no experiment, because They no longer match A, but have a past variant from A and would not meet the flag prerequisite (Experiment_A = off) to be in Experiment_B

 

 

1 reply

jarren.patao
Community Manager
  • Technical Support
  • 70 replies
  • March 27, 2025
Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for reaching out with your question about user behavior in experiments when they no longer match the targeting criteria. Let’s break this down based on your setup and scenario:

1. Experiment Setup:

- Experiment_A targets users on Mobile.
- Experiment_B depends on Experiment_A being off and targets users on Desktop.
2. Scenario: A multi-platform user starts on Mobile (assigned to Experiment_A) and later switches to Desktop. You’re asking whether they would remain in Experiment_A, move to Experiment_B, or be excluded from both experiments.

Key Considerations:

- Sticky Bucketing: If sticky bucketing is enabled, the user will remain in Experiment_A regardless of their current platform. Sticky bucketing ensures that once a user is assigned to a variant, they stay in that variant even if they no longer meet the targeting criteria. You can read more about sticky bucketing here (https://amplitude.com/docs/feature-experiment/advanced-techniques/sticky-bucketing).
- Dynamic Targeting: If sticky bucketing is disabled, the user will be re-evaluated based on the current targeting criteria. In this case:
- When the user switches to Desktop, they no longer meet the criteria for Experiment_A.
- They would then be evaluated for Experiment_B, but only if Experiment_A is off (as per your flag prerequisite).
- If Experiment_A is still active, the user would not qualify for Experiment_B and would not be assigned to any experiment.

###
As far as potential next steps:

- If you want users to dynamically switch between experiments based on their platform, ensure sticky bucketing is disabled. This allows the targeting criteria to re-evaluate users as their properties change.
- If you prefer users to remain in their initially assigned experiment for consistency, enable sticky bucketing.
For more details on implementation and targeting, you can refer to this guide (https://amplitude.com/docs/feature-experiment/implementation) and web experiment targeting (https://amplitude.com/docs/web-experiment/targeting).

Let me know if you have further questions or need clarification on any of the points above!

Best,
Jarren


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