Issue
In Segment Event Triggered Journeys, users may unexpectedly exit and re-enter a journey even when an exit rule is defined. This can cause confusion about when users are eligible to re-enter and how journey steps and exit rule interact. Customers often ask why users re-enter journeys before the exit event defined in the exit rule occurs or why journey participation does not match expectations.
Product
Twilio Segment
Environment
Segment Console
Cause
Users can exit a journey in two ways:
- By meeting a defined exit rule (such as completing a specific event), or
- By reaching the end of the journey steps (for example, after the last step is completed and there are no further actions or delays).
If "Re-enter after exit" is enabled, users become eligible to re-enter the journey whenever they exit—regardless of whether the exit was due to the exit rule or simply reaching the end of the journey.
A user will re-enter the journey if both of these are true:
- They have exited the journey (by any exit method)
- They meet the journey’s entry conditions again
This means that if there are no steps to keep users in the journey (such as a delay or hold step), they may exit and re-enter more quickly than intended.
Resolution
To control when users exit and re-enter a journey:
- Add a "Delay" or "Hold Until" step after key actions in your journey to keep users active until a specific event occurs or a set duration passes.
- Configure exit rules to remove users early if they meet certain criteria, but remember that reaching the end of the journey also causes an exit.
- Review your journey structure to ensure users remain in the journey for the intended period and only re-enter when appropriate.
- Test your journey with sample users to confirm that entry, exit, and re-entry behaviors align with your goals.
Additional Information
- The maximum duration for a "Hold Until" step is 182 days (about 6 months).
- Using delays or hold steps is a best practice to prevent premature exits and unintended re-entries.
- For more details, see Segment documentation on Event-Triggered Journeys.