Is mysql auto increment safe to use as userID?

Question

I am working on website that allows people to create profiles online. I was wondering if it is the right choice to use MySQL AUTO_INCREMENTed IDs as my user ids

Answer 1

Is mysql auto increment safe to use as userID?

If your security system is reliable, basically, yes. But generally, web developers feel uncomfortable exposing IDs that allow guessing other IDs by just incrementing or decrementing a number. Many resort to random, multi-digit IDs instead.

On a more obscure note, numeric IDs may also allow competitors to estimate your growth by keeping track of how the incremental value increases.