# How Does Freshpaint Identify Users?

By default, Freshpaint assigns every user a randomly generated id and stores that in a cookie. This id is called either the user's *anonymous id* or *device id*. You can also use the Freshpaint identify functionality add your own id to a user.

After you assign an id to a user, Freshpaint and all downstream destinations will use that identifier to tie events performed by that user together, even if those events were performed on different devices.

See our [docs on setting up identify](https://documentation.freshpaint.io/~/revisions/lmvqN98QxF2QClCy3JnF/readme/setting-up-identify) for more information.