# App Analytics > Decide what to measure and how — north-star metric, activation/retention/conversion funnels, a clean event taxonomy, App Store Connect App Analytics, StoreKit/subscription metrics, and privacy-respecting instrumentation. Use when defining product metrics, designing analytics events, measuring retention or conversion, choosing a north-star metric, or interpreting App Analytics. Trigger on "analyti… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-markdavidgan-apple-dev-skills-app-analytics` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [markdavidgan](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/markdavidgan) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Data & Analytics](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/data-and-analytics) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [markdavidgan](https://github.com/markdavidgan) - **Source:** https://github.com/markdavidgan/apple-dev-skills/tree/main/platforms/claude/skills/app-analytics ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-markdavidgan-apple-dev-skills-app-analytics ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # App Analytics **Measure the few things that drive decisions — not everything you can.** Over-instrumenting creates noise, privacy risk, and a dashboard nobody reads. This skill is about *what* to measure; performance telemetry is `performance-instruments` (MetricKit). > Test for every metric: *if this number moved, would we do something differently?* If not, don't track it. --- ## Start with one north-star metric A north-star is the single number that best captures delivered user value — leading, not lagging. - Good: "weekly active note editors", "sessions completed per user/week", "tracked workouts/week." - Weak: raw downloads or DAU alone (vanity; doesn't capture value). - The north-star should *predict* retention and revenue. Everything else is a supporting or guardrail metric. --- ## The funnel (AARRR, pragmatically) | Stage | Question | Typical metric | |-------|----------|----------------| | **Acquisition** | Are people arriving? | Impressions → installs (see `asc-aso`) | | **Activation** | Did they reach first value? | % completing the "aha" action in session 1 | | **Retention** | Do they come back? | D1 / D7 / D30 **cohort** retention | | **Revenue** | Do they pay? | Trial→paid, conversion, ARPU (see `paywall-design`, `app-store-pricing`) | | **Referral** | Do they bring others? | Invites sent/accepted, rating prompts | **Activation and retention are where most apps actually win or lose.** Define your activation event precisely ("created and saved 1 note", "logged 3 days") and measure the % who hit it on day 0 — it's the highest-leverage number for a young app. ### Retention is a cohort, not a percentage Always read retention as **cohorts** (users who installed in week N, % active in weeks N+1, N+7…). A single "retention %" hides whether you're improving. A flattening retention curve (not decaying to zero) is the signal of product-market fit. --- ## Event taxonomy — design it before you instrument A messy event log is worse than none. Conventions: - **Name consistently:** `object_action` in one tense — `note_created`, `paywall_viewed`, `subscription_started`. Pick a casing and keep it. - **Properties over event explosion:** one `paywall_viewed` event with a `source` property beats `paywall_viewed_onboarding` / `paywall_viewed_settings` / … Same event, structured dimensions. - **Track the funnel-defining events first** (activation, key actions, purchase steps), then add detail only when a question demands it. - **Version the schema** and write it down — undocumented events rot. - Capture enough context to **segment** (platform, plan, locale) without capturing PII. --- ## Apple's built-in sources (often enough) - **App Store Connect → App Analytics:** impressions, product page views, **conversion rate**, installs, retention, and sessions — segmented by **Source Type** (Search / Browse / Referrer). Free, privacy-safe, no SDK. Start here. - **StoreKit / Subscription analytics:** trials, conversions, churn, proceeds, by product — the source of truth for monetization (pairs with `storekit-purchases`). - **MetricKit:** performance/diagnostics from the field (launch, hangs, hitches) — route to your dashboards via `performance-instruments`. Reach for a third-party analytics SDK only when you need event-level product funnels the built-ins don't give you. --- ## Privacy is part of analytics, not a footnote - Minimize: collect the least that answers your question. Don't log PII or precise location "just in case." - Anything you collect must be reflected in the **privacy nutrition label** and, for required-reason/tracking APIs, the **privacy manifest** — see `privacy-manifest`. Tracking across apps requires **App Tracking Transparency** consent. - Prefer aggregate/on-device where possible. Truthful labels are an App Review and trust requirement. --- ## From metric to action 1. Pick the **one decision** you're trying to inform. 2. Define the **metric + target + window** (ties to `product-spec` success metrics). 3. Instrument the **minimum events** to compute it, with clean names/properties. 4. Read it as **cohorts/segments**, not a single global number. 5. Change one thing, measure the move, keep or revert. Repeat. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [markdavidgan](https://github.com/markdavidgan) - **Source:** [markdavidgan/apple-dev-skills](https://github.com/markdavidgan/apple-dev-skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-markdavidgan-apple-dev-skills-app-analytics - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/markdavidgan - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.