---
title: "Know who is here. Count people, not tabs."
canonical: "https://bird.com/realtime-api/features/presence"
---

# Know who is here. Count people, not tabs.

Show the members participating in a live room. Keep the roster of identities distinct from the number of open connections.

## One person. Two tabs. Still one member.

Close the extra tab and inspect what changes in the live workspace.

### Know who’s here.

One person can have several connections. Show each member once, and update presence when their first tab joins or their last one leaves.

[Explore presence](/docs/guides/realtime/presence-channels)

[Explore presence](/docs/guides/realtime/presence-channels)
Interactive illustration with fictional records. No account operation is performed.

## Sign the member identity. Maintain the roster.

Show the members participating in a live experience.

### Assign identity on your backend.

A presence- channel uses private authorization with signed member_data. Your backend determines member_id and the safe profile information sent to the room.

### Render the initial membership.

After subscription succeeds, read the current member roster before applying join and leave observations. The first connection adds the member and the last connection removes them.

### Keep shared profile data small.

Every member receives member_info. Use safe display details such as a name or avatar, and keep private account fields and authorization roles out of that shared profile.

[Explore Realtime presence →](/docs/guides/realtime/presence-channels)

## Keep building with Realtime.

Add transient collaboration signals or observe membership changes on your backend.

[Client events Share typing and other transient events between authorized clients. →](/docs/guides/realtime/client-events)

[Private channels Restrict live updates to subscriptions your backend approves. →](/docs/guides/realtime/private-channels)

[Webhooks React to channel activity from your backend. →](/realtime-api/features/webhooks)

[Explore Realtime →](/realtime-api)

## 规模扩展 不失控。

在工作区中组织团队，控制 API 访问权限，通过审计日志追踪变更。

[工作区](/docs/guides/workspaces)[团队角色](/docs/guides/users-teams-roles)[API 身份验证](/docs/guides/authentication)
[了解企业方案](/enterprise)

## Start with Realtime. Build across channels with Bird.

[Get Started](/dashboard/signup?returnTo=%2Fdashboard%2Fw%2Frealtime) · [Contact Sales](/demo?product=realtime)

[Email](/email-api) · [SMS](/sms-api) · [WhatsApp](/whatsapp-api) · [Apple Messages](/apple-messages-api) · [Voice](/voice-api)



## Related resources

- [Send your first realtime event](/docs/get-started/send-your-first-realtime-event) (docs)
- [Build your first integration](/learn/paths/integration) (course)

[Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=realtime)