Anonymous Sign-in (SDK v2)

How to work with anonymous users from the legacy Client-Side SDK (wall.x.x.js script tag). For the bigger picture and dashboard toggle, see Paywall → Anonymous sign-in. For SDK v3, see SDK v3 → Anonymous sign-in.

Detecting an Anonymous User

The legacy SDK does not have a dedicated isAnonymous method. Anonymous users are detected by the absence of an email on the user object returned from paywall.getUser().

try {
  const userInfo = await paywall.getUser();
 
  if (!userInfo.user.email) {
    // anonymous user
    showAnonymousBanner();
  } else {
    // full account
    showProfile(userInfo.user.email);
  }
} catch (error) {
  // 401 — not signed in at all
  redirectToPaywall();
}

Anonymous User Response Shape

Anonymous users come back from paywall.getUser() with the same overall structure as regular users — the only difference is email: null and a placeholder display name:

{
  user: {
    id: "anonymous_user_123456789",
    email: null,                  // <-- the marker
    name: "Anonymous User",
    avatar: "default_avatar_url",
    created_at: "2024-01-15T10:30:45.000Z"
  },
  balances: [
    { type: "standard", count: 10 },  // trial tokens deposited
    { type: "advanced", count: 2 }
  ]
  // ... other fields identical to regular users
}

Anonymous users can spend their trial balances via paywall.makeRequest() exactly like signed-up users — the gate is on getUser() returning 200, not on email.

Triggering Anonymous Sign-in

There is no programmatic method to create an anonymous user in SDK v2 — the “Continue without account” button is rendered by the hosted paywall modal. Call paywall.open() and the user picks the option themselves:

paywall.open(); // modal shows "Continue without account" when allow_anonymous = true

After the user clicks it and passes CAPTCHA, the modal closes and the next paywall.getUser() call returns the new anonymous account.

Limitations Specific to SDK v2

• No upgrade API — there is no linkEmail() or similar in SDK v2. If the user later signs in with Google on the same browser, the legacy backend creates a separate account; the anonymous one stays parallel. Token balances do not merge.
• Browser-bound — clearing cookies / localStorage permanently disconnects the user from the anonymous account. No recovery flow.
• No purchase — anonymous users cannot complete checkout. The modal forces a Google sign-in before reaching Stripe/Paddle.

For account linking and resume-after-signout, you need SDK v3 — see AuthClient.signInAnonymously.

See Also