Identifierused

Identifierused is a term used in data models, logs, and documentation to denote the identity that was supplied to perform an action within a system. It is not a formal standard, but a descriptive label that practitioners use to record which identifier was used in a request or operation. The identifier can be a user ID, a service account name, an API key, or another token that identifies the caller at the time of the action.

In practice, identifierused commonly appears as a field in event records, audit logs, or data schemas alongside fields for the action, resource, and timestamp. It is typically stored as a string or numeric value and may be complemented by metadata such as the actor type, authentication method, and whether the identifier was authenticated or proxied. The value recorded in identifierused may differ from the authenticated principal in some configurations, for example when an intermediate service acts on behalf of a user.

Naming and formatting vary by system. Identifierused may appear as identifierUsed, identifier_used, or identifierused, depending on the project's naming conventions. Because it relates to potentially sensitive information about who or what accessed a resource, teams often apply access controls, masking, or anonymization where appropriate and ensure proper retention policies in accordance with privacy regulations.

Example: a JSON-based log line might include "identifierUsed": "u42" to indicate the caller identity utilized for the operation, separate from the resource identifier and the action performed.

See also: identifier, authentication, access log, auditing, provenance.