> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://stytch.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Consumer data model

> Users own and control their identity and how they authenticate.

## Key objects

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="User object" icon="user" href="/api-reference/consumer/api/users/user-object" horizontal>
    An end user's account in your application.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Overview

In consumer applications, users are the sole owners of their accounts and are in control of their identity and how they authenticate. Stytch's consumer data model is designed to support this ownership model and is designed for simplicity, working well for applications that don't require complex identity management features like SSO or SCIM.

Users are identified by either email or phone number:

```mermaid theme={null}
---
config:
  title: Data model for consumer auth
  layout: elk
  elk:
    mergeEdges: true
---
erDiagram
  p["Consumer project"]

  u1[User] {
    string id "user-583..."
    string name "Ada"
    string email "ada@stytch.com"
  }

  u2[User] {
    string id "user-9a1..."
    string name "Baker"
    string email "baker@gmail.com"
  }

  u3[User] {
    string id "user-30w..."
    string name "Baker"
    string phone "+10000000000"
  }

  p ||--|| u1 : ""
  p ||--|| u2 : ""
  p ||--|| u3 : ""
```

### Unique identifiers

* `user_id` is unique to each specific user
* `email` or `phone_number`

***

## Need teams or organizations?

Use [multi-tenant auth](/multi-tenant-auth/data-model) to support org-based account ownership and tenancy.