Quick answer
Mobile app analytics is the collection and analysis of data about how people use a mobile app (starts, screens, events, retention, purchases) and how stable and fast it is, usually gathered by an SDK inside the app.
What is mobile app analytics?
Mobile app analytics is the collection and analysis of data about how people use a mobile app: how many install and open it, what they do on each screen, whether they reach the app's core value, how often they come back, whether they pay, and how stable and fast the app is on their devices. Data comes from an SDK inside the app, sometimes complemented by app store data and server-side events.
It differs from web analytics in its building blocks: app starts and screens instead of pageviews, users and devices that stay identified over time instead of short browser sessions, and app versions, crashes and OS fragmentation that websites do not have.
Key mobile app analytics metrics
| Area | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | Installs, first opens, users by channel |
| Activity | DAU, WAU, MAU, DAU/MAU, sessions per user, session length |
| Activation | Onboarding completion, activation rate, time to value |
| Retention | Day-1, day-7, day-30 retention, cohort curves, churn |
| Engagement | Screens per session, core action frequency, feature adoption |
| Monetization | Conversion to paid, ARPU, ARPPU, trial conversion |
| Quality | Crash-free users, ANR rate, cold start time, app size |
Types of mobile app analytics
| Type | Answers |
|---|---|
| Product / behavioral | What users do in the app, funnels, paths, retention |
| Performance and stability | Crashes, ANRs, launch time, memory |
| Marketing / attribution | Which campaigns brought installs (usually a dedicated attribution provider) |
| App store analytics | Store page views, conversion, ratings (from store consoles) |
| Revenue | Purchases, subscriptions, refunds |
How mobile app analytics works
- An SDK is added to the app and initialized at launch.
- It records app starts, screen views (automatically for some UI frameworks, manually for others), custom events and crashes, with device, OS, app version and network properties.
- Events are batched and sent when the network allows, so offline use is captured later.
- Users can be identified after sign-in to join devices and link app and web behavior.
Example
A meditation app (sample data) sees 40,000 monthly active users, a DAU/MAU of 18% and 24% next-day retention. Splitting retention by app version shows version 3.8 at 29% after a shorter onboarding, and crash-free users at 99.6%. Those two numbers, by version, guide the next release more than the total active users.
Mobile app analytics in TapCub
TapCub's app analytics has SDKs for Android, iOS, Flutter, React Native and HarmonyOS, and covers active users (daily, weekly, monthly), new users, next-day retention, engagement distributions, lifecycle, funnels, paths, stability (crashes, ANRs, freezes, cold start), versions and devices. TapCub does not attribute installs to ad clicks. See install the Android SDK, install the iOS SDK and check active users.
Related terms: native app, DAU/MAU, SDK, crash-free rate.
Sources
- Android Developers. Android vitals.
- Apple Developer. App Analytics in App Store Connect.
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