Programmatic install analytics vs chrome web store analytics discrepency

[Paul Faunik]

Is anyone else experience any inconsistencies of install analytics from their own code based firing of install events in the chrome.runtime.onInstalled event handler and what is reported in chrome web store analytics dashboard?

We are consistently seeing additional unexplained events for instance we are reporting 114 installs from our programmatic event and 38 reported from web store analytics for a particular day.  We have verified that we are only firing one event per user.

Since we are currently at low volume of installs these "extra" installs are much more obvious and affect our ability to use our install number within our analytics reporting tools effectively.

thx

PF

[Joshua Pawlicki]

Hi, I am an owner of the system that generates the counts Chrome Web Store reports.

At time of writing, the CWS install counts are specifically user-driven install attempts from Chrome Web Store. These don't correspond 1:1 to extension API's installed events:

 • A user can install from CWS on one device and then Chrome Sync will install the extension on N devices (so 1 CWS install to N installed events).

 • Some extensions are distributed via non-Webstore install methods (e.g. enterprise policy / prefs, inline install) (so 0 CWS installs to M installed events).

 • It seems likely you're already filtering for reason == "install"), but if not, "installed" will also fire for extension, Chrome, or shared module update.

[Paul Faunik]

Hey Joshua - 

Thanks for the insights.

• Do the CWS install stats reflect one install per google ID regardless of the number of devices it was installed, whether it was uninstalled / reinstalled or installed from a non-web store install method?  IMO the number of "real installs" that most of us would be interested in.
• If so, is there a way to detect or better approximate the CWS stats - a way to remove the "Sync'd installs" from the API installed events?
• also, regarding "reason == "installed") will also fire for extension, Chrome, or shared module update", not sure what the distinction of "extension, Chrome, or shared module update" is
  
• Also, there is a post in StackOverflow about possible delays in the stats being updated (by days) so it may not even be possible to correlate API install events to CWS stats.  Is that *still* true?  
  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33307771/chrome-extension-stats-not-updating
  

thx!

Paul

[Joshua Pawlicki]

> Do the CWS install stats reflect one install per google ID regardless of the number of devices it was installed, whether it was uninstalled / reinstalled or installed from a non-web store install method?

Unfortunately right now they only reflect web-store install methods - any sort of non-web-store install method will not appear in the CWS install counts.

They are deduplicated by user, but only on a daily basis. So for example if I install, uninstall, and install again, that will be 1 install count, unless the two installs happen on different calendar days. If I am syncing extensions, the extension will also install on my other devices without reporting an additional count. If I have sync disabled, I may go manually install the extension on my other devices, which may generate additional counts (subject to the per-user same-day deduplication and what sign-ins, if any, I am using).

> IMO the number of "real installs" that most of us would be interested in.

I hear you. There's a desire to improve this number but unfortunately all I can do at the moment is try to define the current state clearly for you.

> If so, is there a way to detect or better approximate the CWS stats - a way to remove the "Sync'd installs" from the API installed events?

Not that I am aware of.

> also, regarding "reason == "installed") will also fire for extension, Chrome, or shared module update", not sure what the distinction of "extension, Chrome, or shared module update" is

Sorry, I'm referring to the OnInstalledReason here - https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/runtime#event-onInstalled ; If you're trying to count extension installs, make sure you only are counting installed events where reason == "installed". (The event will fire at other times as well, as documented.)

> Also, there is a post in StackOverflow about possible delays in the stats being updated (by days) so it may not even be possible to correlate API install events to CWS stats.  Is that *still* true?  

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33307771/chrome-extension-stats-not-updating

I'm not certain exactly what event the post is referring to. We generally expect the numbers for the previous day to finish processing and be published early each (America/Los_Angeles) day. The great majority of the time the system works as expected, but there have been delays / outages in this system in the past. When such an event does happen, our team works to get the stats exported again as soon as possible, but depending on the nature of the issue it can take some time.

That being said, correlation of install events with the CWS stats will be difficult even with all the data, as the two count fundamentally different things (CWS stats are counting user actions deduplicated daily by account identity, and the API counts installations on devices with no deduplication).

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[Paul Faunik]

Appreciate all the details.

Btw, we are also seeing spikes in installs that dont seem inline with user activity.  

Does Google do any kind of periodic install of extensions for let's say security analysis that might account for periodic bump of installs?

These installs dont typically result in user registrations so they seem possibly server driven installs.

thx

Paul

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[Hachirama Ngainmall]

เมื่อ วันจันทร์ที่ 4 กุมภาพันธ์ ค.ศ. 2019 13 นาฬิกา 09 นาที 38 วินาที UTC+7, Paul Faunik เขียนว่า:

[Joshua Pawlicki]

> Does Google do any kind of periodic install of extensions for let's say security analysis that might account for periodic bump of installs?

Google doesn't do anything of which I am aware that would modify the webstore-reported install counts. If you're referring to the API install events, I'm uncertain.

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[mo gwely]

I have also been experiencing this inconsistency in a similar rate. If CWS install count is 30-40, the onInstalled event would be around 110-120.
My extension is only available in the store, im filtering the onInstalled by reason == "Installed" and i doubt that the chrome sync would, on its own, make for a 4X difference between both stats. I hope other devs could share with us whether they are experiencing similar inconsistency rates or not.

[jody siler]

J

[aylin karlıoğlu]

Hi all,

Even though some time has passed since the last comment; any information or insights you can share regarding my questions would be greatly appreciated.

1. Is it possible to somehow apply filters for first-time installations and/or successful downloads on the CWS dashboard?
2. I haven't come across detailed documentation regarding the CWS report methodology that covers the specifics mentioned in the previous messages. Is there such a document?
   
3. Is there a dedicated API available for integrating CWS report results?
   

thanks!

On Sunday, 10 February 2019 at 06:20:33 UTC+1 jody siler wrote:

J

[Patrick Kettner]

Thank you for taking the time to review and respond. I will try to provide further elaboration on my questions.

> I would appreciate any insights you may have regarding whether there are plans to address this or if it is intended to remain unchanged.

There is no work in this area, but I have passed your request on to the Store team. 

> I am curious if there is any other documentation available that covers these specific details related to CWS analytics.

>  A user can install from CWS on one device and then Chrome Sync will install the extension on N devices (so 1 CWS install to N installed events).

Sorry, what is the question? What are you wanting documentation of? Just confirmation of this information?

 > Some extensions are distributed via non-Webstore install methods (e.g. enterprise policy / prefs, inline install) (so 0 CWS installs to M installed events).

Extensions installed outside of the store do not impact the analytics of the extension on the store. Or am I misunderstanding the question?

> I am interested in developing a dynamic report to measure our conversions from downloads to registrations. I am curious if there is an available API that would allow us to integrate this report and access periodic results through it.

The only data is that available though Google Analytics. There is no additional/seperate API

best

patrick

On Wed, Aug 2, 2023 at 5:31 AM aylin karlıoğlu <karliog...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for taking the time to review and respond. I will try to provide further elaboration on my questions.

> Is it possible to somehow apply filters for first-time installations and/or successful downloads on the CWS dashboard? 

This is not something that is supported.

> I would appreciate any insights you may have regarding whether there are plans to address this or if it is intended to remain unchanged.

> I haven't come across detailed documentation regarding the CWS report methodology that covers the specifics mentioned in the previous messages. Is there such a document?

As the feature does not exist, there is no documentation for it. If I misunderstood what are you looking for, would you be able to elaborate on it a bit?

> As an example, in the CWS dashboard, only the following definition is provided for 'installs': 'The number of install requests per day. This includes successful, unsuccessful, and unknown statuses.'  However, during my research in the forum, I came across additional details that I believe are valuable to know.(adding below) 

I am curious if there is any other documentation available that covers these specific details related to CWS analytics.

 • A user can install from CWS on one device and then Chrome Sync will install the extension on N devices (so 1 CWS install to N installed events).

 • Some extensions are distributed via non-Webstore install methods (e.g. enterprise policy / prefs, inline install) (so 0 CWS installs to M installed events).

> Is there a dedicated API available for integrating CWS report results?

I am not sure I fully understand what you are asking for - a dedicated API from the store for integrating the analytics reports somewhere outside of the store? If so - no. That does not exist. If that is not what you meant, can you elaborate on it?

> I am interested in developing a dynamic report to measure our conversions from downloads to registrations. I am curious if there is an available API that would allow us to integrate this report and access periodic results through it.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Have a great day!

Aylin

On Tue, 1 Aug 2023 at 17:22, Patrick Kettner <patrick...@google.com> wrote:

Hi Aylin!

Sorry to say, there won't be much information. 

> Is it possible to somehow apply filters for first-time installations and/or successful downloads on the CWS dashboard?

This is not something that is supported.

> I haven't come across detailed documentation regarding the CWS report methodology that covers the specifics mentioned in the previous messages. Is there such a document?

As the feature does not exist, there is no documentation for it. If I misunderstood what are you looking for, would you be able to elaborate on it a bit?

> Is there a dedicated API available for integrating CWS report results?

I am not sure I fully understand what you are asking for - a dedicated API from the store for integrating the analytics reports somewhere outside of the store? If so - no. That does not exist. If that is not what you meant, can you elaborate on it?

patrick

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[aylin karlioglu]

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for providing clarifications and forwarding our request to the related team. It would be highly beneficial if we could gain access to more detailed data. (if possible also through an API)

> I am curious if there is any other documentation available that covers these specific details related to CWS analytics.

>  A user can install from CWS on one device and then Chrome Sync will install the extension on N devices (so 1 CWS install to N installed events).

Sorry, what is the question? What are you wanting documentation of? Just confirmation of this information? 

> This is just one example of the type of details I was referring to. I am wondering if there is a source, web page or reference where I can access the same information without having to rely solely on forum discussions?

 > Some extensions are distributed via non-Webstore install methods (e.g. enterprise policy / prefs, inline install) (so 0 CWS installs to M installed events).

Extensions installed outside of the store do not impact the analytics of the extension on the store. Or am I misunderstanding the question?

> Sorry for the misunderstanding, this serves as another example of the type of details I was referring to.

Thanks,

Aylin

[David Emelianov]

Hello,

We are seeing the same discrepancy in the Webstore-reported install data on our side. We have been monitoring this data for quite some time (since before the GA4 migration) and the discrepancy seems to have gotten substantially worse after the move to GA4.

Here is a post with details and specific numbers for what we are seeing: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/chromium-extensions/c/ht2RW6rmB6E

TLDR - previously, the CWS install data was ~20% lower than our programmatically calculated install data (makes sense, because of Chrome Sync and multiple devices) but with the recent migration the discrepancy is roughly 50-100%.