Hash encryption functions can be used to encrypt and transmit confidential information. It is up to you to determine whether the security of this encryption is sufficient for your needs (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_function).


Where can I use functions?​

  • In messages, to insert encrypted information, for example in a link.
  • In profile based activities, to encrypt attribute values ​​or data from related data sets.

Which encryption methods are available?​

Engage provides functions to encrypt values stored in the system. These functions are entered as code that tells the system to apply encryption to the specified target. There is no user interface element available for applying encryption.

There following functions are available:

  • ​ecx:md5hex​: Uses the message-digest algorithm 5 to encrypt a value. Encodes output as a hexadecimal string.
  • ​ecx:md5base64​: Uses the message-digest algorithm 5 to encrypt a value. Encodes output in Base64.
  • ​ecx:sha256hex​: Uses the Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256 to encrypt a value. Encodes output as a hexadecimal string.


Use cases:​

Encryption of export data


The ​Calculation​ profile based activity type can apply encryption to the email address of a recipient and write the encoded value to a target attribute. This is stored as a ​Profile Based Activity (Formula)​. The function for encryption transfers the encrypted value into the selected attribute.

When encrypting the email address, the function is constructed as follows:

${ecx:md5hex(user['email'])}

The encrypted values can be stored in any attribute.


Encryption is applied directly to a link included in a message. This allows you to transmit data over the Internet without it being legible to unauthorized parties.

The encrypted value is inserted as a placeholder in the link:
http://www.myshop.com/edit/?user=<%${ecx:md5hex(user['email'])}%>


If personal information is appended to links, you may need to activate the option to track individual links in personalized messages (see ​Activate Link Tracking for a Group​).