diff --git a/frontend/app/src/components/molecules/analytics-provider.tsx b/frontend/app/src/components/molecules/analytics-provider.tsx
index 5c09f79ae..02ba16fac 100644
--- a/frontend/app/src/components/molecules/analytics-provider.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/src/components/molecules/analytics-provider.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 import { User } from '@/lib/api';
 import { useTenant } from '@/lib/atoms';
 import useApiMeta from '@/pages/auth/hooks/use-api-meta';
-import { useAnalytics } from '@/hooks/use-analytics';
+import {
+  POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+  POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+  useAnalytics,
+} from '@/hooks/use-analytics';
 import React, { PropsWithChildren, useEffect, useMemo } from 'react';
 
 interface AnalyticsProviderProps {
@@ -19,6 +23,13 @@ const AnalyticsProvider: React.FC<
   const { identify } = useAnalytics();
 
   const config = useMemo(() => {
+    if (import.meta.env.DEV) {
+      return {
+        apiKey: import.meta.env.VITE_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY,
+        apiHost: import.meta.env.VITE_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST,
+      };
+    }
+
     return meta.data?.posthog;
   }, [meta]);
 
@@ -38,12 +49,32 @@ const AnalyticsProvider: React.FC<
       return;
     }
 
+    let bootstrapConfig = '';
+
+    if (localStorage) {
+      const distinctId = localStorage.getItem(
+        POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+      );
+      const sessionId = localStorage.getItem(
+        POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+      );
+
+      if (distinctId && sessionId) {
+        bootstrapConfig = `bootstrap: ${JSON.stringify({
+          sessionID: sessionId,
+          distinctID: distinctId,
+        })},`;
+      }
+    }
+
     console.log('Initializing Analytics, opt out in settings.');
     setLoaded(true);
+
     const posthogScript = `
 !function(t,e){var o,n,p,r;e.__SV||(window.posthog=e,e._i=[],e.init=function(i,s,a){function g(t,e){var o=e.split(".");2==o.length&&(t=t[o[0]],e=o[1]),t[e]=function(){t.push([e].concat(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}(p=t.createElement("script")).type="text/javascript",p.async=!0,p.src=s.api_host.replace(".i.posthog.com","-assets.i.posthog.com")+"/static/array.js",(r=t.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]).parentNode.insertBefore(p,r);var u=e;for(void 0!==a?u=e[a]=[]:a="posthog",u.people=u.people||[],u.toString=function(t){var e="posthog";return"posthog"!==a&&(e+="."+a),t||(e+=" (stub)"),e},u.people.toString=function(){return u.toString(1)+".people (stub)"},o="capture identify alias people.set people.set_once set_config register register_once unregister opt_out_capturing has_opted_out_capturing opt_in_capturing reset isFeatureEnabled onFeatureFlags getFeatureFlag getFeatureFlagPayload reloadFeatureFlags group updateEarlyAccessFeatureEnrollment getEarlyAccessFeatures getActiveMatchingSurveys getSurveys onSessionId".split(" "),n=0;n<o.length;n++)g(u,o[n]);e._i.push([i,s,a])},e.__SV=1)}(document,window.posthog||[]);
 posthog.init('${config.apiKey}',{
   api_host:'${config.apiHost}',
+  ${bootstrapConfig}
   session_recording: {
       maskAllInputs: true,
       maskTextSelector: "*"
diff --git a/frontend/app/src/hooks/use-analytics.tsx b/frontend/app/src/hooks/use-analytics.tsx
index 9a73b482b..382676653 100644
--- a/frontend/app/src/hooks/use-analytics.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/src/hooks/use-analytics.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ interface UseAnalyticsReturn {
   isAvailable: boolean;
 }
 
+export const POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY = 'ph__distinct_id';
+export const POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY = 'ph__session_id';
+
 /**
  * Hook for PostHog analytics integration
  * Provides a clean interface for tracking events and identifying users
@@ -61,6 +64,11 @@ export function useAnalytics(): UseAnalyticsReturn {
       } catch (error) {
         console.warn('Analytics identify failed:', error);
       }
+
+      // important: clear out the distinct_id and session_id from local storage
+      // after identifying the user so we don't re-bootstrap over and over
+      localStorage.removeItem(POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY);
+      localStorage.removeItem(POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY);
     },
     [isAvailable],
   );
diff --git a/frontend/app/src/pages/auth/register/index.tsx b/frontend/app/src/pages/auth/register/index.tsx
index 6a22d426f..ad8590a45 100644
--- a/frontend/app/src/pages/auth/register/index.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/src/pages/auth/register/index.tsx
@@ -2,18 +2,41 @@ import { Link, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { UserRegisterForm } from './components/user-register-form';
 import { useMutation } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import api, { UserRegisterRequest } from '@/lib/api';
-import { useState } from 'react';
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { useApiError } from '@/lib/hooks';
 import useApiMeta from '../hooks/use-api-meta';
 import { Loading } from '@/components/ui/loading';
 import { GithubLogin, GoogleLogin, OrContinueWith } from '../login';
 import useErrorParam from '../hooks/use-error-param';
 import React from 'react';
+import {
+  POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+  POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY,
+} from '@/hooks/use-analytics';
 
 export default function Register() {
   useErrorParam();
   const meta = useApiMeta();
 
+  // allows for cross-domain tracking with PostHog
+  // see: https://posthog.com/tutorials/cross-domain-tracking
+  // for setup instructions and more details
+  // important: we need to set these in local storage from here,
+  // because once we redirect after the user signs up, we lose the hash params
+  const hashParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.hash.substring(1));
+  const distinctId = hashParams.get('distinct_id');
+  const sessionId = hashParams.get('session_id');
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (distinctId) {
+      localStorage.setItem(POSTHOG_DISTINCT_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY, distinctId);
+    }
+
+    if (sessionId) {
+      localStorage.setItem(POSTHOG_SESSION_ID_LOCAL_STORAGE_KEY, sessionId);
+    }
+  }, [distinctId, sessionId]);
+
   if (meta.isLoading) {
     return <Loading />;
   }