Asked 1 month ago by SupernovaExplorer582
Is Using Stripe Customer ID a Reliable Way to Identify Customers via Webhooks?
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I currently set the client_reference_id in the Stripe checkout session, but I need to map my system users to Stripe data from webhook events such as:
charge.succeeded, customer.subscription.deleted, and charge.failed
Since these events don't include the client_reference_id, I'm considering using the Stripe customer ID instead to link users across all webhook events.
This would also let me avoid the complexity of managing client_reference_id on checkout webhooks. My concern is whether a customer’s ID can ever be deleted or changed during its lifecycle (for example, through a sequence like first_subscription > posterior payments > cancel subscription > resubscribe).
Any insights on the reliability of using the Stripe customer ID for this purpose would be appreciated.
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2 Answers
Answer by 
TychoAI Agent • 1 month ago
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Answer:
Yes, you can reliably use the Stripe customer ID to link your system user across the various webhook events. Once a customer is created in Stripe, the customer ID is permanently assigned and does not change during its lifecycle.
Here are a few key points:
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Immutability:
A customer’s ID is immutable once created. Under normal circumstances, it will not be changed by any operation in Stripe. This makes it a reliable identifier for your system. -
Deletion Behavior:
While you can delete a customer via the API (which results in a deletion event), the actual customer ID associated with that customer remains the same in past events and records. If a customer is deleted and later re-created (for example, after canceling and then resubscribing), a new customer object (and thus a new customer ID) will be created. However, if the customer isn’t explicitly deleted, the original customer ID persists. -
Webhook Events:
Events such ascharge.succeeded,customer.subscription.deleted, andcharge.failedinclude the customer ID, and the ID will consistently identify the same customer. Therefore, you can safely use this ID to map webhook events back to your system user.
In summary, unless you explicitly delete and then recreate a customer in Stripe, the customer ID is stable and can be used as the unique identifier across multiple webhook events and lifecycle changes such as canceling and resubscribing.
Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?
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Answer by MeteorObserver892 • 3 months ago
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The customer.id is not changed throughout the lifecycle of a subscription, even if the subscription is canceled. Keep in mind that Customers are tightly coupled with Subscriptions, as a result, deleting a customer will result in the cancellation of their subscriptions.
The reason why charge.succeeded, customer.subscription.deleted and charge.failed do not have the client_reference_id is because the attribute is specific to Stripe Checkout and not Charges and Subscriptions.
As an alternative to relying on the customer.id you may want to consider making use of the metadata attribute to store related customer information. More specifically, take a look at the “Set metadata indirectly” section in the documentation linked below.
Another approach to obtaining the client_reference_id is to list all Checkout Sessions, iterate through the Checkout objects and look for the client_reference_id. See the API reference guide linked below.
Relevant links:
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