The Validations tab monitors schema compliance for incoming event and segmentation data. All data received via SDK or API is validated against the defined Event Schema before being processed for reporting.
Validation Process
All incoming data must:
Be UTF-8 encoded
Match the defined Event Schema
Comply with segmentation type rules
Respect the event and segmentation status
Pass PII detection rules (if configured)
If incoming data does not meet schema requirements, validation rules determine how it is handled.
Use Case
User A plans an event on Countly Data Manager and makes its status live:
event_key = submit_button
Event (display) name = Click Submit Button
Segmentation name= button_ID
Segmentation type = stringBut User B implements them in the SDK, and data is sent via the SDK as given below:
event_key = submitButton
Event (display) name = Click Submit Button
Segmentation name= buttonID
Segmentation type = stringCountly checks all sent event and segmentation data before using it on your data, and validates them with the Event Schema. Incoming data is validated against:
Event Key
Segmentation Name
Segmentation Type
Event Status
Segmentation Status
Required Segmentation Rules
PII Detection Rules
So, Countly triggers a warning message on UI and doesn’t inject the sent data to the user data. When data is marked as unplanned, it is stored but not included in reporting datasets until approved and set to Live.
If Segmentation Regex is used to detect PII data or manage segmentation value in a defined pattern, a warning message is triggered for any error. Countly doesn’t save or collect data, and instantly drops it.
Validation Errors
| Error Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Unexpected Event | Event status is not Live, or the event is not defined |
| Unexpected Segmentation | Segmentation status is not Live, or segmentation is not defined |
| Unplanned Event | Event key not present in schema |
| Unplanned Segmentation | Segmentation key not present in schema |
| Missing Data | Required segmentation is missing |
| Mismatch | Segmentation data type mismatch |
| PII Data | PII detected and dropped |
Validation Rules (Configuration)
Countly can handle incoming event data in two main ways, depending on how you configure Manage Events and Schema Validations in settings.
- If Manage Events = Allow unplanned events: New (previously unknown) events/segments sent by the SDK are accepted. They appear in Data Manager tagged as Unplanned, but they are still available to features that use event data. No “blocking” behavior is applied; the schema is effectively allowed to grow from incoming traffic. Use this approach when you want maximum flexibility and don’t want schema enforcement to block or hide data.
Example:
If Manage Events = Don’t allow unplanned events (recommended for clean data): Events/segments not planned in Data Manager are treated as schema violations. If Trigger Validation for Unplanned Events is enabled, Countly creates entries on the Validations tab (for example: unplanned event, unplanned segment, missing segmentation, data type mismatch).
These validation entries remain in Data Manager > Validations until you take action (e.g., approve/delete or apply filtering rules depending on your setup).
Example:
When schema validations are disabled, you won’t receive event/segment/type validation errors; only the Global Validation Regex (PII regex) continues to work.
What “Warning” means in Validation Actions
Validation Actions (e.g., Global Validation Action / Segment Level Validation Action) define what Countly does when it detects a match (such as a PII regex match). For testing and safer rollouts, start with Warning so you can review issues in the Validations tab before enforcing stricter behavior (such as dropping/redacting).
Lifecycle reminder (common workflow)
- Unplanned/invalid data detected → appears in Validations
- Approved in Validations / planned in schema → becomes part of schema
- Live status (where applicable) → fully used across UI features (tables, charts, etc.)