diff --git a/kedro-telemetry/kedro_telemetry/plugin.py b/kedro-telemetry/kedro_telemetry/plugin.py
index dd8b46877..136201c3d 100644
--- a/kedro-telemetry/kedro_telemetry/plugin.py
+++ b/kedro-telemetry/kedro_telemetry/plugin.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
 CONFIG_FILENAME = "telemetry.toml"
 PYPROJECT_CONFIG_NAME = "pyproject.toml"
 UNDEFINED_PACKAGE_NAME = "undefined_package_name"
+MISSING_USER_IDENTITY = "missing_user_identity"
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -240,7 +241,7 @@ def _send_telemetry_heap_event(self, event_name: str):
         try:
             _send_heap_event(
                 event_name=event_name,
-                identity=self._user_uuid,
+                identity=self._user_uuid if self._user_uuid else MISSING_USER_IDENTITY,
                 properties=self._event_properties,
             )
             self._sent = True
@@ -323,9 +324,8 @@ def _send_heap_event(
         "event": event_name,
         "timestamp": datetime.now().strftime(TIMESTAMP_FORMAT),
         "properties": properties or {},
+        "identity": identity,
     }
-    if identity:
-        data["identity"] = identity
 
     try:
         resp = requests.post(
diff --git a/kedro-telemetry/tests/test_plugin.py b/kedro-telemetry/tests/test_plugin.py
index c100dd9e1..048f17561 100644
--- a/kedro-telemetry/tests/test_plugin.py
+++ b/kedro-telemetry/tests/test_plugin.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 from kedro_telemetry.plugin import (
     _SKIP_TELEMETRY_ENV_VAR_KEYS,
     KNOWN_CI_ENV_VAR_KEYS,
+    MISSING_USER_IDENTITY,
     KedroTelemetryHook,
     _check_for_telemetry_consent,
     _is_known_ci_env,
@@ -347,7 +348,7 @@ def test_before_command_run_anonymous(self, mocker, fake_metadata):
         expected_calls = [
             mocker.call(
                 event_name="CLI command",
-                identity="",
+                identity=MISSING_USER_IDENTITY,
                 properties=generic_properties,
             ),
         ]