Mobile App Analytics: What to Track Beyond Installs

vijay madhpuriya

Jul 15, 2025 • 4 min read

I've been working with mobile apps for years, and I've seen countless developers get caught up in the excitement of download numbers. Trust me, I get it – watching those install counts climb is addictive. But here's the thing I've learned the hard way: installs are just the beginning of the story.

What really matters is what happens after someone downloads your app. Do they actually use it? Do they find value in it? Do they come back? These are the questions that keep me up at night, and they should be on your mind too.

Let me share what I've discovered about the metrics that actually matter for your app's success.

1. The Wake-Up Call: User Activation

I remember launching my first app and celebrating 10,000 downloads in the first week. I felt like I'd made it! Then I looked deeper into the data and realized that only 60% of people who downloaded my app even opened it. Ouch.

That's when I learned about activation metrics:

First launch rates – Are people actually opening your app after they download it?
Onboarding completion – I've seen apps lose 80% of users during sign-up because it was too complicated
Time to first key action – How long does it take someone to actually do something meaningful in your app?

The lesson? Make your onboarding so smooth that users can't help but experience your app's value immediately.

2. The Reality Check: Daily and Monthly Active Users

Here's something that humbled me early on: having 100,000 downloads means nothing if only 500 people are actually using your app daily.

I now obsess over:

Daily Active Users (DAU) – Who's actually showing up every day?
Monthly Active Users (MAU) – The bigger picture of engagement
DAU/MAU ratio – This tells you how "sticky" your app really is

If your DAU/MAU ratio is above 20%, you're doing something right. Below that? Time to figure out why people aren't coming back.

3. The Heartbreaker: User Retention

Nothing hurts more than watching users disappear. I've stared at retention curves that look like cliffs, and it's soul-crushing. But it's also incredibly valuable data.

Track these religiously:

Day 1, 7, and 30 retention rates – The classic milestones that tell you everything
Churn rate – Face the music on who's leaving and when

High churn usually means one of three things: your onboarding confused people, your app doesn't solve a real problem, or the user experience is frustrating. I've been there on all three counts.

4. The Behavioral Goldmine: Session Metrics

Understanding how people actually use your app is fascinating. I love diving into:

Session length – Are people spending quality time with your app?
Session intervals – How often do they come back?
Sessions per user – Is your app becoming a habit?

These metrics have helped me optimize everything from push notification timing to feature placement.

5. The Detective Work: In-App Behavior

This is where things get really interesting. I spend hours analyzing:

Screen flow analysis – Where do people go? Where do they get stuck?
Feature usage – Which features are hits and which are flops?
Custom events – Every meaningful tap, swipe, and interaction

Tools like Mixpanel and Amplitude have become my best friends for this kind of detective work.

6. The Personal Touch: User Segmentation

One size doesn't fit all. I've learned to think of my users as real people with different needs:

Demographics – Age and location matter more than you'd think
Behavioral patterns – Power users vs. casual browsers need different experiences
Acquisition source – People who find you organically behave differently than those who come through ads

Segmentation has transformed how I approach everything from marketing messages to feature development.

7. The Bottom Line: Conversion Rates

At the end of the day, conversions pay the bills. I track:

Onboarding conversion – Getting from download to active user
Funnel optimization – Plugging the leaks in your user journey
Monetization events – The actions that actually generate revenue

Small improvements in conversion rates can have massive impacts on your business.

8. The Technical Reality: App Performance

I learned this lesson when my app's crash rate spiked to 5% and my ratings tanked overnight. Performance isn't just about code – it's about user experience:

Crash rate – Keep it under 1% or users will abandon ship
Load times – Every second counts in our impatient world
Error tracking – Know about problems before your users complain

Tools like Firebase Crashlytics have saved me from many disasters.

9. The Human Voice: User Feedback

Never underestimate the power of actually listening to your users:

App store reviews – Read them all, even the harsh ones
In-app surveys – Ask questions when it matters most
Net Promoter Score – Would they recommend your app to a friend?

Some of my best features have come from user suggestions.

10. The Business Truth: LTV and CAC

This is where the rubber meets the road:

Lifetime Value (LTV) – How much revenue will a user generate?
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – How much does it cost to get them?

If your LTV isn't at least 3x your CAC, you're in trouble. I've had to make tough decisions based on these numbers.

My Final Thoughts

Looking back, I wish someone had told me earlier that downloads are just vanity metrics. The real work begins after the install. Every user who downloads your app is giving you a chance to prove your value. Don't waste it.

Focus on understanding your users as real people, not just numbers in a dashboard. Make decisions based on data, not hunches. And remember – every metric tells a story about a human being who decided to give your app a try.

The apps that succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the most downloads. They're the ones that genuinely improve people's lives and keep them coming back for more.