Understanding The Event Flow

The Ours platform processes events in a structured and secure manner to ensure that your data is tracked, filtered, and forwarded to the correct destinations. This guide will walk you through how events flow through the system, from their source to their final destination.

Event Flow Overview

Here’s a high-level view of the event flow in Ours:

Source → Allowed Events (Event Allowlist) → Optional Custom Mapper → Destinations

Step 1: The Source

What is a Source?

A source is where your data originates. Ours supports multiple types of sources, including:

Pixel Script: Installed on your website (potentially via GTM) to track user interactions automatically or via custom events.
Server-to-Server Integration: Tracks events directly from your backend systems. See Server-to-Server Integration.
Webhooks or APIs: Custom sources that feed data into Ours.

The pixel script is one of the most common and straightforward sources. When installed on your website, it automatically tracks default properties (e.g., UTM parameters, referrers) and allows you to track custom events with the ours('track') function.

How the Pixel Script Works

The pixel script is installed in the <head> section of your website.
It initializes a global function, ours, which you use to track events.
As users interact with your site, the script sends event data (e.g., page views, form submissions) to Ours.

To learn more about installing the pixel script, see Installation.

Step 2: Event Allowlist

After an event is received from a source, Ours checks whether it is on your Event Allowlist. This ensures that only approved events are processed and sent to destinations.

Key Points:

Events that are not allowed for a specific destination...will not be forwarded to that destination.
You can manage your Event Allowlist in the Event Allowlist section of your dashboard.

For more details, see Adding Events to Your Allowlist.

Step 3: Optional Custom Mapper

Before forwarding events to destinations, Ours allows you to customize the data through a mapper. Mappers let you:

Modify event properties (e.g., rename, transform, or redact data).
Apply privacy rules, such as hashing or removing PII/PHI.
Customize how data is formatted for specific destinations.

If no custom mapper is configured, Ours uses default mappings to forward your event data.

For more details, see Data Mapping.

Step 4: Destinations

Once the event passes through the mapper, it is forwarded to your configured destinations. Destinations can include:

Analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel).
Advertising platforms (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads).
Big data tools (e.g., Amazon S3, Google BigQuery).

To configure destinations, refer to the Destinations Overview.

Summary

The Ours event flow ensures that your data is:

Tracked from a variety of sources (e.g., pixel script, server-to-server).
Filtered through the Event Allowlist to allow only approved events.
Customized via mappers to fit your needs and maintain privacy.
Forwarded to destinations securely.
Verified through the Recent Events Dashboard for transparency.

To get started, install the Pixel Script or set up a Server-to-Server Integration. For more advanced configurations, explore Custom Event Mapping and Adding Events to Your Allowlist.