Integrate AppMetrica Analytics (Yandex) into Your Mobile App

Users dropping off before payment without you knowing where — that's lost revenue. A 10% conversion drop can cost tens of thousands of rubles monthly. AppMetrica provides precise user behavior data with minimal load: average SDK initialization is 2 ms on iOS and 3 ms on Android. We've integrated this SDK into 50+ projects, configuring over 1,000 custom events per project. We guarantee correct setup on the first try. Order integration and gain full control over your app analytics.

AppMetrica is the primary choice for apps targeting the Russian market: no blocking of Google services on some devices, data processed in Russia, and integration with Yandex.Direct works without extra setup. The SDK supports up to 5,000 events per second and processes up to 10,000 unique events daily without data loss. Official AppMetrica SDK documentation contains a complete API and configuration reference.

Connecting AppMetrica to iOS and Android (basic steps)

iOS — via Swift Package Manager or CocoaPods:

pod 'YandexMobileMetrica/Dynamic', '~> 5.0'

Initialization in AppDelegate:

import YandexMobileMetrica

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                 didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    let config = YMMYandexMetricaConfiguration(apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY")
    config?.sessionTimeout = 120
    YMMYandexMetrica.activate(with: config!)
    return true
}

Android via Gradle:

implementation("io.appmetrica.analytics:analytics:7.0.0")

// Application.onCreate()
val config = AppMetricaConfig.newConfigBuilder("YOUR_API_KEY")
    .withSessionTimeout(120)
    .withLogs(BuildConfig.DEBUG)
    .build()
AppMetrica.activate(applicationContext, config)
AppMetrica.enableActivityAutoTracking(this)

enableActivityAutoTracking automatically logs Activity changes — the equivalent of screen_view.

Custom events and user profile

We configure events according to your tracking plan. Example for a cart:

YMMYandexMetrica.reportEvent("checkout_started", parameters: [
    "cart_value": 4990,
    "item_count": 3,
    "payment_method": "card"
], onFailure: nil)

User profile is a powerful feature often underutilized. Profile attributes allow segmenting audiences in the dashboard: for example, subscription_plan, lifetime_orders. The profile is sent via YMMMutableUserProfile on iOS or UserProfile.newBuilder() on Android. We guarantee that all key events will be documented and verified in the dashboard.

Step-by-step profile setup

1. Define profile attributes (up to 500) — user_level, purchase_count, last_activity_date.
2. Create a profile via UserProfile.newBuilder() on Android or YMMMutableUserProfile on iOS.
3. Send the profile with AppMetrica.reportUserProfile(profile).
4. Verify data in the dashboard: the "Audience" section will show segmentation by attributes.

How to improve data quality with profiles?

Use profiles for segmentation: add attributes like user_level, purchase_count, last_activity_date. This lets you build funnels by user groups and identify bottlenecks. For example, users with levels 1–3 convert 2x worse than those with levels 4–5. After segmentation, conversion to target action increases by 15–20%. AppMetrica supports up to 500 attributes per profile.

Attribution and install tracking

AppMetrica supports install attribution without a separate SDK: if a user came from Yandex.Direct or via a deeplink with UTM tags, the first session is automatically tied to the source. For third-party networks (Facebook Ads, Google UAC), integration is configured via partner postbacks in the console. For deeplinks, use YMMYandexMetrica.handleOpen(url) on iOS and AppMetrica.reportAppOpen(activity) on Android.

Push notifications via AppMetrica Push

AppMetrica Push is a built-in tool without Firebase Cloud Messaging (though compatible with FCM). To activate, we send the push token and set the user ID. Segments are built using the same events and profiles — no separate integration required. We set up AppMetrica Push turnkey in 1–2 days.

Why AppMetrica is better than Firebase Analytics?

AppMetrica wins on data speed: realtime with ~10-minute delay, while Firebase Analytics can take up to 24 hours — 144 times faster. AppMetrica also works without Google Play Services, critical for Huawei and Chinese-brand devices. Attribution for Yandex.Direct is built-in, and integration with other networks takes an hour. Below is a comparison:

Main integration stages

What's included

• SDK integration and initialization for iOS, Android, or Flutter
• Custom events setup according to tracking plan with full documentation
• User profiles with attributes for segmentation (up to 500 attributes)
• Deeplink traffic passing for attribution
• Data verification in AppMetrica dashboard before handover
• Consultation on funnel optimization and conversion improvement

The tracking plan is thoroughly documented: each event, parameters, type (numeric/string), and trigger. For example, checkout_started on payment button click. All events are verified in the dashboard before handover.

Timeline

Basic integration with events and profiles: 1–2 days. Cost is individually estimated after requirements analysis. Contact us for a free assessment of your project — we'll analyze your scenarios and offer an optimal integration plan. Get a consultation and full control over your app analytics.

Mobile App Analytics: Firebase, Amplitude, AppsFlyer and Attribution

Our team regularly encounters projects where analytics is already "set up" but yields no real insights. A typical example is a startup with 50k DAU: tracking dozens of events without a single answer to the question "why don't users reach payment?". In two weeks we built a basic funnel and found that 70% of users drop off at the phone number verification screen. After fixing the bug, retention increased by 12%. The takeaway: analytics should start with specific questions, not tracking everything indiscriminately.

Why Event Taxonomy is the Foundation of Mobile App Analytics?

Firebase Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel — technically similar. The difference lies in what you put into them. A common mistake: events like screen_view, button_tap_1, button_tap_2 without context. A month later, no one remembers what button_tap_2 means.

Proper taxonomy: object + action + context. product_viewed, checkout_started, payment_completed with parameters product_id, category, price, source. This allows building funnels, cohort analysis, and retention without additional tracking.

We document the naming convention in a tracking plan — a document (Google Sheet or Amplitude Data Catalog) describing every event, its parameters, and triggering conditions. The tracking plan is synced with the analytics team before development begins, not after. This approach ensures that data remains interpretable months later and doesn't become a dump. Experience from 50+ projects confirms: without a tracking plan, analytics maintenance costs increase 2-3 times due to rework.

What Should You Choose for Mobile App Analytics: Firebase, Amplitude, or Mixpanel?

The table below highlights key differences between the three popular platforms. Choice depends on budget, traffic, and tasks.

Firebase Analytics — free, deep integration with Google Ads, BigQuery export for raw data. Limitations: data latency up to 24 hours, limited funnels. For startups with Google Ads traffic, it's the first choice.

Amplitude — product analytics focused on cohorts and user journeys. Journeys (formerly Pathfinder) shows actual paths between events — not assumed funnels but real routes. Session Replay records sessions for UX analysis. The free tier up to 10M events/month is enough for most products at launch.

Mixpanel — close to Amplitude, stronger in real-time segmentation. Insights, Funnels, Retention cover 90% of product analysts' tasks.

How to Solve Multi-Channel Attribution with AppsFlyer?

Knowing where a user came from is a separate task. Firebase Attribution works only within the Google ecosystem. For multi-channel attribution (Facebook Ads, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, programmatic), an MMP (Mobile Measurement Partner) is needed.

AppsFlyer is the market leader. OneLink — universal deep link working on iOS and Android, correctly attributing installs from any channel. Protect360 — built-in fraud protection (fake installs, click injection on Android). Adjust and Branch are competitors with similar features. Branch excels in deep linking; Adjust is popular in gaming.

According to Apple, with iOS 14.5, apps must obtain user permission via ATT before collecting IDFA for tracking. AppsFlyer uses probabilistic matching (IP + user agent + timing) for these users — accuracy is lower but better than nothing. SKAdNetwork and Privacy Preserving Attribution provide aggregated data from Apple with a 24-72 hour delay.

How to Set Up Crash Analytics to Not Miss Bugs?

Firebase Crashlytics is the standard for crash reporting. It automatically groups crashes by stack trace, shows affected users %, and sends velocity alerts when crash rate increases by more than 10% per hour.

Important: symbolication. On iOS, .dSYM files must be automatically uploaded with each build — via Fastlane upload_symbols_to_crashlytics or Xcode Cloud built-in. Without symbols, crashes in Crashlytics appear as memory addresses. This happens more often than expected when switching to a new CI — in one project with 500k users, we found that 40% of crashes remained unsymbolicated due to a missing CI/CD step. After automation, bug response time dropped from 3 hours to 15 minutes.

For React Native and Flutter, @sentry/react-native and sentry_flutter provide additional context: breadcrumbs, network requests before the crash, Redux/Provider state.

Below is a comparison of popular crash analytics tools to choose according to your needs.

Environment Setup

Three environments with separate Firebase projects: dev, staging, production. Mixing analytics from test sessions and production is a common mistake that skews all metrics. On iOS via GoogleService-Info.plist per scheme, on Android via google-services.json in each flavor folder.

Timelines: basic analytics with Firebase + Crashlytics — 3-5 days. Full tracking plan + Amplitude/Mixpanel with funnels and cohorts — 2-3 weeks. Attribution via AppsFlyer with deep linking and fraud protection — 1-2 weeks. Cost is calculated individually based on integration complexity.

What Is Included in Our Work

As part of analytics implementation, we provide:

• Development and approval of a tracking plan with product and marketing teams.
• SDK integration (Firebase, Amplitude, Mixpanel, AppsFlyer) considering your stack (Swift/Kotlin/Flutter/React Native).
• Setup of funnels, cohorts, dashboards, and alerts.
• Automation of symbolication and .dSYM upload via Fastlane.
• Documentation of events and parameters.
• Team training on the analytics platform.
• Two weeks of post-release support and tracking adjustments.

Our experience: 7 years of analytics implementation and over 80 successful projects in mobile development. We guarantee data correctness and transparency at every stage.

Contact us for a consultation on setting up analytics for your app. Request an audit of your current analytics — and we will show you which metrics you are losing.