What constitutes a user?

[Virgil]

At the web store App download data, and also user data, is tallied.

Does anyone have any idea where the user data comes from. I can see
download data readily available to Google. However, if I choose to
install, how does Google know about this?

At the point of time of install - isn't it just between me and the 3rd
party app?

Interesting question for me at this point in time.

Thanks beforehand!

[Michael Mahemoff]

At point of install, the browser downloads a CRX file from the store. The web store itself keeps track of how many people have installed each app.

You can also integrate Google Analytics in your landing page (via the Developer Dashboard) as well as your app.

[Virgil]

Right Mike, thanks for the response.

So I guess the following reporting takes place.

a) Download
b) Install lights up CRX which reports to store on install - thus
download turns to user.
c) If software not used for XX:XX of time - is user considered no
longer a user?
d) If app is removed, does CRX report back - no longer user?
e) Does the store conduct a outreach to all apps looking for a return
- thus still a user?

I guess the simplest cycle is CRX reports it is being used - User -
that's it.

If that's the case, the user base will never decline.... correct?

Thanks again. This is interesting stuff!

[PhistucK]

I believe installs equal to downloads.

Users equal to update checks from the browser.

☆PhistucK

[djc8080]

Install is weekly. Don't know if the number is a moving window - ie
resets each day based on last 7 days. Thus, it could become lower.

User is weekly. Don't know if the number is a moving window by day.
Don't know if this is dependent on app clicks or simply not
uninstalled. If uninstalled, the user count becomes lower.

What's missing is a total, cumulative install number - which would
never decline.

This unusual system is similar to Facebook apps - and their buggy
reporting system. The Android Marketplaces also has a counter that is
buggy. The only reliable number seems to be Google Checkout. ;-)
Thus, don't read too much into these early numbers.

Hope that helps.

On Dec 16, 11:52 am, PhistucK <phist...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I believe installs equal to downloads.
> Users equal to update checks from the browser.
>

> ☆*PhistucK*

[Virgil]

Update checks report back to Store and count as a user.

That's an interesting thought but the Store is going to stay in the
loop between 3rd party apps and the user?

On Dec 16, 2:52 pm, PhistucK <phist...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I believe installs equal to downloads.
> Users equal to update checks from the browser.
>

> ☆*PhistucK*

[Paul Kinlan]

Hi,

PhistucK is correct.  User counts are based on the update pings to the WebStore - you have to remember that each of these apps/extensions each check the store to see if there are updates, this is where the user count comes from.

P

--
Paul Kinlan
Developer Advocate @ Google for Chrome and HTML5
t: +447730517944
tw: @Paul_Kinlan
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/paulkinlan
Blog: http://paul.kinlan.me
Skype: paul.kinlan

[Virgil]

So as per phist...and Paul -

a) Download is recorded in Chrome Web Store data table
b) Upon initialization, Web Store is notified - User is counted.
c) Upon upgrade or upgrade checks User is re-confirmed as being a
User.
d) Assumption - if user does not upgrade, after certain period of
time User is no longer considered a User.
*** Is this correct? If so we should see a decline in some User bases
somewhere. Currently I haven't witnessed a decline.

Further, if the above scenario is accurate, we must assume any apps
that are downloaded outside the Chrome Web Store eventually check in
with the Web Store for updates?
*** Is this correct?

Many thanks to all. I enjoy this sort of stuff.

On Dec 16, 5:39 pm, Paul Kinlan <paulkin...@chromium.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> PhistucK is correct.  User counts are based on the update pings to the
> WebStore - you have to remember that each of these apps/extensions each
> check the store to see if there are updates, this is where the user count
> comes from.
>
> P
>

[Paul Kinlan]

I think you are unlikely to notice a decline, if a user has your app installed Chrome will be performing update checks at regular intervals so the users count is always fresh.

Apps that are downloaded outside of the store will have an update_url of something that is not the Chrome Webstore and therefore will not be included in the count as Chrome will use the update_url[1] in the manifest to check for updates, unless the public key is the same as the Web store listing AND the update_url is the webstore, which is a valid technique to migrate an app from your servers to the webstore.

Just to clarify, apps and extensions with an update_url of the webstore will regularly check the webstore for updates.  If the update_url doesn't exist, then Chrome will not check for any updates, if the update_url is your server, then Chrome will only check your server for updates for that app.

[1] http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/autoupdate.html - this has a lot of information about how apps and extensions auto update.

Thanks,

P

[Virgil]

Great Paul thanks.

Seems like it's all up to the update url.

a) If update url is WebStore, will go to user count.
b) If update is other, or nothing, will not go to user count.

Can one make the following assumptions?

1) Every update essentially tallies how many updates are made and
thus a 'user' sum is given?
2) The Chrome Store does not have a table of hardware ids (or some
other user id) that follow the life of an app.

For example I download App A from the store. The download is simply
counted. The app update is counted. All updates are tallied and
assumed to be users.

The update is not married to a user identifier anywhere - a app
customer table of all active and former app users?

Finally - if an App is removed, or the update_url is changed from the
Web Store - would that not result in a decline of the user tally?

Thanks!

[Paul Kinlan]

If a user uninstalls the app then there will be no more update pings, so the users tally should drop.  You are unable to change the update_url once the app is in the webstore because when you upload your application we append the webstore update_url into the manifest automagically.

P

[Virgil]

Many thanks P I believe this jello has been squashed.

It's safe to say that Web Store does not contain a data store of app/
user info.

Simply tallies taking place.

Thanks!

On Dec 17, 6:38 am, Paul Kinlan <paulkin...@chromium.org> wrote:
> If a user uninstalls the app then there will be no more update pings, so the
> users tally should drop.  You are unable to change the update_url once the
> app is in the webstore because when you upload your application we append
> the webstore update_url into the manifest automagically.
>
> P
>

[Carl]

Regarding Google Analytics integration, my own experience has been
that this does not give you any information regarding the app's
details page. It seems only to provide information on how many times
the user has actually used a given page within your app. That is, the
Analytics scripts go into your individual app pages. I can see them
when I perform an Inspect inside my app.

It might be useful to add tracking for how many visits were made to
your details page, so you could see how many people were looking vs.
installing, as well as which other pages (e.g., top page, search
results page of the Store) they came from, etc. The tracker that I
see on that details page does not belong to me, so I assume it belongs
to the store itself. The store might make that information available,
or it might just allow the inclusion of a second tracker (the same one
we specify on the edit page for the app) that developers would be able
to use to monitor the page themselves.

I was using a pre-existing Analytics account up until just now, and
that identified the top-level page of my app as simply "/" (slash),
which is also the top-level page of the Web site being monitored by
that account, so that statistic got lost. My named HTML pages were
listed as just /Instructions.html, etc. which happened to work out
since they weren't on that side.

I just set up a new account for this data and since I'm using a
packaged app I wasn't sure what URL to provide, and Analytics wouldn't
accept just "/" so I ended up giving the full path to my app's details
page. It took that, so we'll see once some data accumulates whether
that really works or not.

On Dec 16, 10:35 am, Michael Mahemoff <mahem...@google.com> wrote:
> At point of install, the browser downloads a CRX file from the store. The
> web store itself keeps track of how many people have installed each app.
>
> You can also integrate Google Analytics in your landing page (via the
> Developer Dashboard) as well as your app.
>

[Paul Kinlan]

Analytics, ief installed via your edit page will give you information
of all the hits to your listing in the Chrome Web store. But you have
to add it in to the edit page, not just your app.

Thanks,
p

--

Paul Kinlan
Developer Advocate @ Google for Chrome and HTML5
t: +447730517944

tw: @Paul_Kinlan <http://twitter.com/paul_kinlan>

[Carl]

This was my mistake: one of my old trackers had accidentally been left
inside my help pages from a copy and edit of a page on one of my Web
sites. I initially re-used that ID when setting up the Web Store for
my app, and so when I saw them while inspecting my running app's own
page, I thought that they had been placed in my pages by the Web
Store :-} .

Now I have a new Analytics ID in the edit page for the app, and can
see that it it is in the Web Store page's source, and that it is
actually reporting hits for the Web Store page in Analytics. So if I
want trackers in my app's own pages, I'll have to place them there
directly. What a concept.

[Paul Kinlan]

cool - it is awesome that it worked.