# Understanding Active vs Anonymized Contacts in the Mautic Leads Table

**URL:** <https://forum.mautic.org/t/understanding-active-vs-anonymized-contacts-in-the-mautic-leads-table/38032>\
**Category:** Mautic 7 Install / Upgrade Support\
**Created:** [April 2, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/understanding-active-vs-anonymized-contacts-in-the-mautic-leads-table/38032 "2026-04-02T13:31:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![andrew\_c3](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/andrew_c3/32/13547_2.png) [@andrew\_c3](https://forum.mautic.org/u/andrew_c3)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/understanding-active-vs-anonymized-contacts-in-the-mautic-leads-table/38032/1 "2026-04-02T13:31:43Z")

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Hello,

M7.0.1 - Test Instance)  
M6.0.3 - Production Instance

While working with Mautic at the database level, I’ve been exploring how different contact states are represented in the `leads` table. One thing that stood out is the apparent absence of an explicit status flag indicating whether a contact is _active_, _anonymized_, or in any other lifecycle state.

From inspecting the table structure, there doesn’t seem to be a straightforward column with values like `active`, `anonymized`, etc. This suggests that contact status is likely inferred from a combination of existing fields rather than a single, clearly defined indicator which is a shame.

I can capture some of this behavior at the SQL level through observation, but it’s not immediately obvious what the definitive logic is—especially for anonymized contacts. For example:

- Are anonymized contacts identified by specific fields being nulled out?

- Is there a flag or timestamp that implies anonymization indirectly?

- Are there multiple conditions that together define the state?

Given the lack of a detailed, official database schema document, I’d really appreciate some clarification from someone familiar with the internals of the database schema.

Ideally, it would be helpful to know:

- How Mautic determines whether a contact is active vs anonymized

- Which fields or combinations of fields are involved

- Where in the codebase this logic is implemented (so I can trace it myself)

If there’s a specific part of the code or documentation that explains this, a pointer in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I’m happy to dig into the implementation—just looking for a starting point.

Thanks in advance!