Intercom Frontend Integration

Core Philosophy

1. The Messenger is a guest in your app -- boot it intentionally, shut it down on logout, and call update() on every route change. Stale sessions cause data leaks and ghost conversations.
2. There is no startCall() -- phone and video calls cannot be initiated from the JS API. Use trackEvent to trigger Workflows that route to phone support. This is the most common misconception.
3. Identity verification is non-negotiable -- without JWT or HMAC, anyone can impersonate users by booting with their email. Generate tokens server-side only.
4. Performance is opt-in -- the widget is ~300KB+ with heartbeat timers. Lazy load with facade pattern or initializeDelay to protect Core Web Vitals.
5. Custom attributes go inline -- pass them at the top level of boot/update, never nested under a custom_attributes key.

Quick-Start: Common Problems