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What happens to existing account data that isn't included in the new subscriber list file?

In most cases, existing subscriber data that you don’t include (or don’t map) in your new subscriber upload file is left exactly as‑is and is not cleared or overwritten.

Written by Christina Butler
Updated this week

In most cases, existing subscriber data that you don’t include (or don’t map) in your new upload file is left exactly as‑is and is not cleared or overwritten.

What happens depends on how you’re updating subscribers and whether you’re using any special options:

Subscriber Upload Scenarios

1. Manual subscriber uploads (Bulk Import Users)

When you upload a file via Engage > Subscribers > Manual Subscriber Uploads:

manual subscriber uploads in uConnect

  • You first choose an action (add users, update users, remove tags, unsubscribe, delete, etc.)
    – Full steps here: Upload a subscriber list | uConnect Knowledge Base

  • Then you map only the columns that you want to update. According to the upload flow:

    • Required fields: first name, last name, email (and SSO ID for students if SSO is enabled)

    • Additional columns (Communities, tags, etc.) are optional mappings

For subscriber list formatting guidance, read our article that also contains a template.

Anything that you do not map during this step is ignored by the upload.

That means:

  • If a subscriber already has preferences, tags, or other data in uConnect, and

  • Those fields are not mapped to any column in your file,

then those fields are preserved and not overwritten.

2. Automated SIS / automatic subscriber uploads

If you’re using Automated Subscriber Uploads / SIS Bridge:

  • The SIS sync is configured to update specific fields from your SIS file.

    • Graduation date is always updated from SIS.

    • Email frequency and user type can be overwritten by SIS, depending on your Bridge settings.

    • Communities and content preferences are always updated, but SIS does not remove user-customized tags; it only adds to them.

With automated uploads:

  • You still map specific columns from your SIS file to specific fields in uConnect.

  • Fields that are not mapped in this automation setup are not controlled by SIS, and existing values for those fields are typically preserved.

In summary:

  • For both manual uploads and SIS, uConnect only updates the fields you explicitly map and configure.

  • Existing subscriber data that is not represented or not mapped in your upload/file generally stays unchanged, unless you are using a special option like “Refresh” (which can remove subscribers not present in the file) or have SIS settings that intentionally overwrite certain core fields.

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