Android Quick Start

Overview

The Lytics SDK for Android makes it easy for developers to identify, manage consent, and collect user activity data from their native mobile apps. This ensures all critical channels can be associated with fully resolved user profiles. This section explains how to integrate Lytics into your Android apps. If you are looking for information on iOS apps, see the Lytics SDK for iOS.

Here we will cover how the Lytics Android SDK enables the following:

• Create a persistent identifier for a user across multiple app engagements.
• Collect user attributes & identifiers.
• Manage user consent.
• Collect user activity (events) as they engage with your app.
• Tailor collection destination and settings based on your particular needs.

About the Lytics SDK for Android

• Approximate Installation Size: 35 KB (315 Methods)
• Android Version Support: 8+
• Android Studio Version Required: v2021.3.1 or Higher

Installation

Before You Begin

Before you begin implementing the Lytics SDK for Android, please make sure you have the following:

• Access to a Lytics account capable of collecting streaming data.
• The latest version of Android Studio (v2021.3.1 or higher)
• An Android app that you can use to implement the Lytics SDK for Android
  The binary distribution files of the SDK have been built for Android 8+.

Step 1. Add the Lytics SDK & Dependencies:

Add the JitPack repository to your build file

Add to your root build.gradle file:

allprojects {
	repositories {
		...
		maven { url 'https://jitpack.io' }
	}
}

Or for newer Android projects, repositories are defined in the project's settings.gradle file:

dependencyResolutionManagement {  
    repositories {  
        ...  
        maven { url '<https://jitpack.io>' }  
    }  
}

View the latest release on JitPack: Release

Add the Lytics Android SDK library as a gradle dependency.

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.github.lytics:android-sdk:<VERSION>'
}

Add permissions to your AndroidManifest.xml

Add the following permissions to your AndroidManifest.xml file:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

This permission is required to send events to the Lytics API.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />

This permission is technically optional but highly recommended to allow the library to determine the best time to send events to the API.

Step 2. Configure the SDK

A variety of top-level configuration options are available to ensure the SDK can be tailored to the needs of your particular application. To get started, however, we need only add your valid Lytics API token to the Lytics.shared.start initialization call as outlined below:

Lytics.init(applicationContext, LyticsConfiguration(
    apiKey = "YOUR-VALID-LYTICS-API-TOKEN",
))

import android.app.Application
import com.lytics.android.Lytics
import com.lytics.android.LyticsConfiguration
import com.lytics.android.logging.LogLevel

class DemoApplication : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()

        val config = LyticsConfiguration(
            apiKey = "YOUR-VALID-LYTICS-API-TOKEN",
        )
        
        Lytics.init(applicationContext, config)
    }
}

Step 3. Identifying a User

Once we have initialized the SDK, it is a best practice to identify the user anywhere formally they provide additional strong identifiers, such as a username or email, upon login, for example. This ensures your profiles have the highest potential for properly unifying across your various data sources.

Do note, this step is optional. By default, the Lytics SDK will create an anonymous identifier for all users and leverage that to merge with disparate sources as we do with our traditional web-based JavaScript SDK.

Lytics.identify(
  LyticsIdentityEvent(
    identifiers = mapOf(
      "email" to "[email protected]"
    )
  )
)

Step 4. Tracking Activity

Once the user has been identified (optional), we can begin tracking various activities throughout their visit. Typical activities include screen views, clicks, purchases, etc. A full scope of event tracking flexibility can be found in the technical documentation section below.

Lytics.track(
  LyticsEvent(
    name = "purchase",
    properties: mapOf(
      "total" : 19.99,
      "item" : "Slingshot"
    )
  )
)

Technical Documentation

The following outlines the full definition of capabilities supported by the Lytics SDK for Android.

Configuration

When initializing the Lytics SDK with Lytics.shared.start, a variety of top-level configuration options are available to ensure the SDK can be tailored to the needs of your particular application:

Each of the above configuration options can be added to the initial Lytics.shared.start instantiation of the Lytics SDK as outlined here:

Lytics.init(applicationContext, LyticsConfiguration(
  apiKey = "YOUR-VALID-LYTICS-API-TOKEN",
  logLevel = LogLevel.DEBUG,
  defaultStream = "my_custom_anroid_stream",
  maxQueueSize = 10  
))

Identifying Users

Lytics.identify is used to emit strong identifiers and attributes associated with your app user. This method provides a means to store the primary identifiers on the device itself so that all future event tracking from that device automatically is appended with information necessary to maximize the effectiveness of your identity resolution strategy. For each Lytics.identify call, you have the option to only store that data to the device or emit it to a Lytics event stream for mapping to profiles. Emitting all event types to a Lytics event stream is always our recommendation.

Example identify call where we set pass a custom stream, set of identifiers, and attributes:

Lytics.identify(
  LyticsIdentityEvent(
    stream = "sample-custom-stream", // optional
    identifiers = mapOf(
      "email" : "[email protected]",
    ),
    attributes = mapOf(
      "first_name" : "Kevin",
      "last_name" : "McCalister"
    )  
  )
)

Tracking Events

Lytics.trackemits activity data for a particular app user to a Lytics even stream. Each track call will automatically be appended with the strong identifiers stored on the device to ensure the highest potential resolution against Lytics user profiles. Lytics.track calls can include a variety of optional parameters and data associated with the interaction as defined below:

Example track call where we track a purchase event and its associated properties:

Lytics.track(
  LyticsEvent(
    name = "purchase",
    properties: mapOf(
      "total" : 19.99,
      "item" : "Slingshot"
    )
  )
)

Screen Tracking

Lytics.screen is an additional method for appending device information to the traditional track call. This is an extension of the above definition and results in including the following information with all events:

• Operating System Version
• Device Model Name

Data Privacy Controls

Depending on your application's particular needs, various data privacy controls are available by default. Below you'll find the optional methods and examples of scenarios where some or all may be most applicable.

Consent

Lytics.consent is a specific event type for collecting critical information related to consent, such as location, document, etc. As a best practice, a Lytics.consent event should always be leveraged alongside the Lytics.optIn() event to ensure proper documentation of consent:

Lytics.consent(
  LyticsConsentEvent(
    name = "android consent",
    identifiers: mapOf(
      "userid": "my-fake-userid-1234"
    ),
    attributes: mapOf(
      "firstName": "Kevin",
      "lastName": "McCalister"
    ),
    consent = mapOf(
      "documents": [
        "terms_jan_2023",
        "sharing_policy_jan_2023"
      ],
      "location": "Chicago, IL",
      "consented": true
    )
  )
)

Opt In

Lytics.optIn() sets the state of a user's activity tracking preference. By default, all users are opted in. This default setting is fully configurable at the top-level SDK configuration. In either case, an explicit call to Lytics.optIn() will result in activities being tracked and sent to a Lytics stream.

Lytics.optIn()

Opt Out

Lytics.optOut() is the opposite of the above Lytics.optIn() method and will prevent activity data from being emitted to Lytics after it has been called until an additional.Lytics.optIn() call has been made.

Lytics.optOut()

GAID (Identifier for Advertisers)

GAID or advertisingIdentifier is an alphanumeric string that is unique to each device. Collection of this identifier requires explicit confirmation from the app user, which the Lytics SDK for Android can trigger. In addition, upon confirmation, the GAID will be treated as a strong identifier and included with all outbound events emitted to Lytics streams for improved resolution.

The Lytics SDK for Android offers two methods to collect GAID and handle the opt-out of GAID.

To present a required modal asking for tracking access and storage/inclusion of the device-specific GAID upon confirmation, call the following method:

Lytics.enableGAID()

To disable the storing and emitting of the user's device-specific GAID, call the following method:

Lytics.disableGAID()

To support collecting the Android Advertising ID, add the following to the application's gradle dependencies:

implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads-identifier:18.0.1'

Additionally, declare a Google Play services normal permission in the manifest file as follows:

<uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID"/>

After confirming with the user and getting their consent, enable Advertiser ID collection via Lytics.enableGAID().

The user's Android Advertising ID will be sent with each event's identifiers.

Note, the user can disable or change the Advertising ID via the Android system privacy settings.

Utility

Several utility-type methods are available for flushing queues, resetting stored data, and performing general maintenance or debugging.

Event Queue Flushing

Occasionally, it may be desired to force a flush of the event queue. This is common after a series of events, before sign-out, etc. This method will bypass any queue caps or timers and result in all queued events being emitted:

Lytics.dispatch()

Stored Property Flushing

Strong identifiers and attributes are stored locally on the device. In general, there are not likely to be many use cases where it is necessary to delete all stored data and reset the SDK. By doing so, the resolution will become much more complex, and all identifiers, even anonymous, will no longer be accessible. That said, in the case of a shared device where a user is logging in and out or in the more common case of a test device, the following method is available to delete all data stored by the Lytics SDK for Android:

Lytics.reset()

Access Stored Identifiers & Attributes

Be it for testing or presenting a profile to the end user, the complete stored device-level profile is available with the following method. Do note, this is only the stored data as a result of Lytics.shared.identify calls and does not represent the complete user profile from the Lytics system and cross-channel sources.

let userModel = await Lytics.shared.user

API Reference

The Lytics SDK for Android is optimized to leverage the fewest number of APIs possible. As such, all event collection is managed by leveraging the core Lytics event collection API.

Troubleshooting

When enabled, the .debug log level will result in additional logs to aid troubleshooting and issue resolution. Don't hesitate to contact customer support if you have trouble implementing the Lytics SDK for Android.

FAQ

Please visit our community section for FAQs and SDK-related discussions.