Default analytics stack for solo / small Apple-platform Apps — App Store Connect Analytics + MetricKit + Game Center (for games), no third-party tracking SDK by default, PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy mandatory. Invoke when starting a new project, deciding analytics SDK (vs Firebase / TelemetryDeck / Amplitude), writing PrivacyInfo, or when asked "should I integrate Firebase / Mixpanel / TelemetryDeck".
Installation
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Default analytics stack for solo / small Apple-platform Apps — App Store Connect Analytics + MetricKit + Game Center (for games), no third-party tracking SDK by default, PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy mandatory. Invoke when starting a new project, deciding analytics SDK (vs Firebase / TelemetryDeck / Amplitude), writing PrivacyInfo, or when asked "should I integrate Firebase / Mixpanel / TelemetryDeck".
Apple Three-Piece Analytics
When to invoke
Starting a new App and deciding on an analytics SDK.
User asks "what metrics should I track", "what can I see without a third-party SDK".
Default decisions
v1 uses the Apple three-piece set
Source
What it provides
Where to view
App Store Connect Analytics
Downloads, sessions, active devices, retention, sources, store conversion
App Store Connect web
MetricKit (MXMetricPayload, MXDiagnosticPayload)
Performance & diagnostics: crash / hang / launch time / jank / energy / memory
The App receives them → persist to log / optionally upload later
macOS caveat: MetricKit on macOS yields a reduced payload set compared to iOS (some payload types are iOS-only, e.g. MXAppLaunchMetric). For mac-heavy apps, lean more on App Store Connect Analytics + targeted OSSignposter traces.
| Game Center (if it's a game) | Leaderboards / achievement completion / peer-player comparison | Game Center API / Game Center app |
Privacy / Manifest
PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy is a required deliverable (hard App Store submission requirement).
Because no third-party SDK, no IDFA, no PII are collected, the manifest content is very minimal.
No ATT prompt needed (no IDFA use case).
CloudKit / Game Center's user-facing privacy notices are handled at the system layer by Apple; the App only needs to declare data usage in PrivacyInfo.
What's not covered (explicitly accepted)
Micro-behaviour streams like "which button was tapped" or "how long was spent on a screen" are not covered by the three-piece set.
Confirm v1 doesn't need to answer these questions; deviate if it does.
Rationale
At solo / small-team scale, the three pieces cover most key questions (installs / retention / performance / crashes / player comparisons).
No third-party SDK → no ATT, no PrivacyInfo additions, small build size, and the privacy claim is verifiable by readers via grep on import.
Positive for a public-repo showcase ("no third-party tracking" is a credible commitment).
Deviation considerations
Adopt TelemetryDeck (privacy-friendly first)
Trigger: actually need the micro-behaviour stream of "which button, where do users get stuck".
Priority: TelemetryDeck > Firebase (the latter has heavier privacy burden, needs ATT, and many PrivacyInfo entries).
How to integrate: swap in the TrackingSink implementation via telemetry-facade-pattern; call sites change nothing.
Adopt Sentry / Crashlytics
Trigger: MetricKit MXDiagnosticPayload persistence still isn't enough for the incident workflow.
Cost: third-party SDK, extra PrivacyInfo entries, build size.
Verification checklist
PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy exists and passes App Store Connect validation.
No import Firebase* / import Sentry / import Amplitude, etc.
MetricKit subscription is wired (MXMetricManager.shared.add(...)).
Game Center entitlement aligns with leaderboard / achievement definitions (for games).
Related skills
telemetry-facade-pattern: the sink implementations for each piece.
oslog-logger-defaults: MetricKit payloads persist via OSLog.
apple-public-repo-security: "no PII / no third-party SDK" is one of the public-repo commitments.
