Rich in-app events—Overview

Why record in-app events?

In-app events provide insight into what is happening in your app and are the ideal tool to determine the value of app users and the quality of traffic originating from different media sources. Recording in-app events helps you measure KPIs such as ROI (Return on Investment) and LTV (Lifetime Value).

When users perform registrations, complete tutorials, add items to the shopping cart or make purchases, the in-app event data can record the events with the details. The implementation of in-app events is mandatory for all post-install analysis purposes.

About in-app events

An in-app event comprises an event name and can include event parameters. When you add event parameters to an in-app event, it is referred to as a rich in-app event. Event parameters provide you with more context and information about the occurring event. For example, while it helps to know that a user made a booking, event parameters can provide you with details such as the type of purchase, destination, and revenue.

Predefined and custom events

In-app events that you want to send require your developer to implement code where applicable in your app. Event names and event parameters are classified as follows:

• Predefined: These are event names and event parameters that are commonly used among different apps. We highly recommend using predefined event names and event parameters as much as possible for the following reasons:
  • Predefined naming allows automatic mapping of events to partners. 
  • If AppsFlyer decides to change the name of any event or event parameter, your implementation is backward compatible.
• Custom: These are event names and parameters that you define for specific user scenarios that occur in your app. You can use any custom event name or parameter name string, but keep in mind that custom events need maintenance by your developer. See Tips and Limitations.

Sending events

There are several ways to send in-app events to AppsFlyer:

• AppsFlyer SDK: This is the most common way to send events. You can send rich in-app events that record user actions in the app using the AppsFlyer in-app events API at the SDK level.
• Sever-to-server API: Use the server-to-server API to send events that occur outside the mobile app, directly to AppsFlyer. For example, if you have a user who is active on both web and mobile interfaces, you can record events from both sources and attribute them to the same user in AppsFlyer. It can be either an in-app event or other events, such as website events, call-center events, or purchases in your brick-and-mortar store.
• Receipt validation: This is a secure mechanism where the payment platform, for example, Apple and Google, validate that the in-app purchase took place as reported. Validating purchases is the primary tool to prevent fraudulent revenue events. It also helps you see what the real revenue is, and filters out incomplete in-app purchases. 
• Hybrid apps: These apps combine native views and HTML content and can also record in-app events. However, because the SDK can only send events from the native side, developers have to forward all event data to native code.

Setting up in-app events

The process of setting up in-app events requires that the marketer and the developer work together as follows:

Defining an in-app event

Once you determine the in-app events that you want to measure, use our In-app event generator to define the events and parameters as follows:

1. Select an event name that is most suitable to the scenario you want to record.
2. Select the event parameters that you want to associate with the event. Choose parameters that will provide additional context to the event and enrich the data.
3. Download the completed file from the in-app event generator, and then share it with your developer.

Recommended events by business vertical

The following table provides links to articles that include examples and flows of the typical in-app events we suggest recording per vertical.

Business vertical	Article title
	Recommended gaming app events
	Recommended eCommerce app events
	Recommended entertainment app events
	Recommended finance and banking app events
	Recommended P2P lending app events
	Recommended online education app events
	Recommended ride-hailing app events
	Recommended flight booking app events
	Recommended hotel booking app events
	Recommended healthcare app events
	Recommended telecommunication app events
	Recommended eWallet app events
	Recommended sports betting events

View in-app event data

In-app events are attributed to the media source responsible for the install throughout the lifetime of the user. Event data is presented as Life Time Value or Activity data. 

You can view your in-app event data in these locations:

• Dashboard overview page: Displays real-time LTV user acquisition (UA) performance
• Events page: Displays LTV in-app event performance across media sources
• Raw data in-app event report: Displays activity data, meaning, a chronological list of the actions performed by your entire user base. This report includes event parameter values, for example:

  {
    "af_level":"10",
    "af_score":"3387",
    "arena":"7",
    "char_type":"paladin"
  }

  Note that raw-data reporting is a premium feature.

Tips 

Keep in mind the following when adding event names and parameters:

• For data consistency in raw-data reporting, we recommend defining and using the same in-app event names and structures across all platforms.
• Use a minimal number of events to make it easier to compare the quality of users coming from different sources.
• It is important that you ensure the privacy of your users. Don't populate in-app event values with restricted data that can directly identify them. For example, email address, name, identity number, and in some locations postal code. For more information about restricted data, read the services privacy policy.
• Note that AppsFlyer collects the IP address of devices during engagements. In some jurisdictions or use scenarios, the IP address can be regarded as PII. We use the IP address to derive the broad geographic location (city, district level) of the device but not the specific address. If needed, you can select to mask IP addresses so that they don't appear in raw data reports. 
• In-app events are the only source of revenue data in AppsFlyer. You can attach a specific revenue value to each event, and view it on your app's dashboard. Learn more about the monetizing parameters.

  

Limitations

Keep in mind the following when adding event names and parameters:

• We recommend using only lower-case alpha-numeric characters (a-z and 0-9) for your in-app event names. Event names are case sensitive, meaning that af_purchase and af_PURCHASE are two different events in the raw data. However, in aggregate reports (for example, Overview, or Events) they can be displayed as a single event.
• There is a cardinality limit of 300 unique events per day. Learn more
• Unique users are only counted for the first 100 events after they install the app.
• Event names cannot begin with these characters: ", =, +, -.
• Event values should not exceed 1000 characters. 
• If you include the referring URL as an event value, it must be URL encoded.
• Facebook has some limitations regarding event names and parameters. Read about the limitations here.

FAQ

The following section includes various FAQ about in-app events.

{
  "af_revenue":"50.87",
  "af_currency":"USD",
  "af_receipt_id":"57601333",
  "product":[ 
   { 
	 "af_content_id":"1164_8186",
	 "af_price":"8.97",
	 "af_quantity":"1"
   },
   { 
	 "af_content_id":"1164_8186",
	 "af_price":"8.97",
	 "af_quantity":"1"
   },
   { 
	 "af_content_id":"1164_8186",
	 "af_price":"8.97",
	 "af_quantity":"1"
   },
   { 
	 "af_content_id":"1177_8185",
	 "af_price":"8.97",
	 "af_quantity":"1"
   },
   { 
	 "af_content_id":"0153_9077",
	 "af_price":"14.99",
	 "af_quantity":"1"
   }
  ]
}

"{\"af_content_id\": [\"123\",\"988\",\"399\"], \"af_quantity\": [\"2\",\"1\",\"1\"], \"af_price\": [\"25\",\"50\",\"10\"], \"af_revenue\": \"110\", \"af_currency\": \"USD\"}"