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Quickstart Android

This tutorial will help you start sending analytics data from your Android app to Intilery.

If you want to dive deeper at any point, check out the Android Source Reference.

Step 1: Install the Library#

The recommended way to install the library for Android is with a build system like Gradle. This makes it simple to upgrade versions and add destinations. The library is distributed using Maven Central. Simply add the analytics SDK to your module’s build.gradle file:

dependencies {  implementation 'com.intilery.analytics.android:analytics:1.0.0'}

Step 2. Initialize the Client#

We recommend initializing the client in your Application subclass.

// Create an analytics client with the given context and Intilery write key.Analytics analytics = new Analytics.Builder(context, YOUR_WRITE_KEY)  .trackApplicationLifecycleEvents() // Enable this to record certain application events automatically!  .recordScreenViews() // Enable this to record screen views automatically!  .build();
// Set the initialized instance as a globally accessible instance.Analytics.setSingletonInstance(analytics);

Notes:

  • Automatically tracking lifecycle events (Application Opened, Application Installed, Application Updated) and is optional, but highly recommended to hit the ground running with core events! See below for more info!

Step 3. Add Permissions#

Ensure that the necessary permissions are declared in your application’s AndroidManifest.xml.

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="your.package.name">  ...  <!-- Required for internet. -->  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/></manifest>

Step 4. Identify Users#

Good to know: For any of the different methods described in this quickstart, you can replace the properties and traits in the code samples with variables that represent the data collected.

The identify method is one of our core API methods. It’s how you tie one of your users and their actions to a recognizable userId. It also lets you record traits about the user, like their email, name, account type, etc. You can read more about it in the identify reference.

When and where you call identify depends on how your users are authenticated, but doing it in the onCreate method of your Application class would be most common, as long as you know who your user is. If your user is still anonymous, you should skip this part and we’ll attribute the subsequent events to an anonymousId instead.

Here’s what a basic call to identify might look like:

Analytics.with(context).identify("f4ca124298", new Traits().putName("Michael Bolton").putEmail("mbolton@example.com"));

That’s identifying Michael by his unique User ID (the one you know him by in your database) and labeling him with name and email traits.

Hold up though! When you actually put that code in your Android app, you’ll need to replace all those hard-coded strings with details about the currently logged-in user.

Once you’ve added an identify call, you’re ready to move on to…

Step 5. Track Actions#

The track method is how you record any actions your users perform. Each action is known by a name, like “Purchased a T-Shirt”. You can also record properties specific to those actions. You can read more about track in the track reference.

To get started, our SDK can automatically track a few key common events, such as the Application Installed, Application Updated and Application Opened. Simply enable this option during initialization.

Analytics analytics = new Analytics.Builder(context, writeKey)  .trackApplicationLifecycleEvents()  .build();

You’ll also want to track events that are indicators of success for your mobile app, like Signed Up, Purchased Item or Bookmarked Article. We recommend tracking just a few important events. You can always add more later!

Here’s what a call to track might look like when a user signs up:

Analytics.with(context).track("Signed up", new Properties().putValue("plan", "Enterprise"));

That’s just telling us that your user just triggered the Signed Up event and chose your hypothetical 'Enterprise' plan. Properties are simple key-value pairs that can be anything you want to record, for example:

Analytics.with(context).track("Bookmarked Article", new Properties()  .putValue("title", "Snow Fall")  .putValue("subtitle", "The Avalance at Tunnel Creek")  .putValue("author", "John Branch"));

You’ll want to track events that are indicators of success for your mobile app, like Signed Up, Purchased Item or Bookmarked Article.

To get started, we recommend tracking just a few important events. You can always add more later!

Once you’ve added a few track calls, you’re done! You successfully instrumented your app! Now you’re ready to turn on any destination you fancy from our interface, margarita in hand.

What’s Next?#

We just walked through the quickest way to get started with Intilery using Analytics for Android. You might also want to check out our full Analytics for Android reference to see what else is possible, or read about the Tracking API methods to get a sense for the bigger picture.