In relative terms, few years have passed since the first modern smartphones were launched, yet their adoption has been categorical, at a consumer level as well as at an individual level.
Companies have also leveraged this revolution through mobile applications. Apps have turned into a new source of clients by either offering services through smartphones or creating simple apps (such as games) that reinforce a company’s brand or generate publicity through successful apps such as Angry Birds.
It’s important for organizations that invest money and effort into developing apps to know how users use their applications and how they benefit from employing mobile channels to attract new clients to their services. For this reason, ‘traditional’ web analytic tools have been forced to adopt new methods in order to be integrated into applications.
But the mobile revolution has been so decisive that new tools dedicated solely to mobile analytics have emerged.
The following is a list of tools for mobile analytics, several of them are well-known while others less so. 
- Flurry: with this tool, you can track all kinds of events within an application. Users can be divided into different segments such as use, retention, geography, age, gender, and interests; customized segments can also be created.
- Localytics: just like Flurry, this tool allows customized segmentation, conversion funnel tracking, or campaign tracking. But it goes one step further since it adds A/B testing to determine what content works best within the application. Moreover, it allows ‘in-app’ messages or Push notifications based on various segments to send customized campaigns to users. Additionally, you only need to pay for this tool once you surpass 10000 active users and Localytics has a 30-day trial version.
- TestFlight and FlighPath: TestFlight, as well as FlightPath, are free tools that allow you to easily distribute your beta phase application to testers. Additionally, both tools allow you to track app use and detect possible errors and subsequent improvements that will help you perfect your app.
Selecting Tools
Of the tools mentioned above, one of the most frequently used is TestFlight for iOS applications since many companies are developing their apps on that platform. For this reason, they want their apps to be tested by iOS users who show interest. Through TestFlight, they can distribute the application to selected users who will be able to test the app progressively.
Other Tools
In this section, tools are divided into three types: quantitative software, qualitative software, and crash tracking services. Each of these tools provides and displays not only numeric measurements but characteristics as well. The following is a list of the different kinds of tools available for each service.
Quantitative Software
Google Analytics: in order to use the latest generation of app reports on Google Analytics, you must install Firebase’s SDK. This is a type of web tool that shows higher-level and in-depth data in a set of reports.
Apple Analytics: this is an Apple service dedicated to analyzing mobile apps and is one of iOS’ most popular app analysis tools. It has a wide scope of use and possibility, such as acquisitions, total number of sessions/downloads, user participation, active devices, promotion management, error reports, etc.
Facebook Analytics: this software analyzes Facebook’s apps, focusing on the human factor. It consolidates Facebook’s client data with mobile features that result in precise demographic information segments and forecasting of user behavior.
There are other alternatives such as Firebase, Flurry, Amplitude, Mixpanel, and App Annie.
Qualitative Software
AppSee
This is considered the number one tool among qualitative services. Unlike others, it doesn’t deal with numbers, instead, its objective is to provide detailed information about the user’s behavior. It does so in two ways, by tracking clients (it tags events, provides convenient visualizations, provides a separate report of the person’s experience) and tactile heat maps (it provides screen flow analysis, displays client’s average statistics, deals with UX/UI issues). Additionally, it provides error reports and ANR, conversion funnels, and general retention/commitment information.
Crash Tracking Services
Crashlytics
Crashlytics is a Firebase tool focused on analyzing performance errors; it now occupies the lead position in the field. It examines problems that cause app blockages and provides detailed reports that highlight key issues. The service offers complete error reports based on several factors, such as device/application versions, internet connection, battery/charging status, proximity sensor, phone orientation, etc. Also, Crashlytics has a notification function and processes data in real-time. Crashlytics is free and compatible with iOS and Android versions.
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