Troubleshoot app statistics problems

The data source for some metrics within Play Console has been updated. The updated data source measures some metrics, like 'Installs on active devices', more accurately.

You  may also notice a change to other metrics and most dimensions (such as operator or language).

As of 17 July 2018, more comprehensive pre-install data is included in installation metrics.

If your app comes pre-installed on any devices, you may notice an increase in 'Installs by user', 'Installs by device' and 'Installs on active devices'.

As of 16 July 2018, your app's 'Cumulative installs by user' data will no longer be available on the Statistics page.

If you need to calculate this data point, you can take your app's final 'Cumulative installs by user' entry and add the sum of 'Installs by user' since that date.

Over the next several weeks, you may notice some changes to reports, app deletion and account data within Play Console.

Between 9 May 2017 and 17 July 2017, some subscriptions that failed at purchase were miscategorised as started subscriptions.

Sales and payout reports weren't impacted, but data on new, active and cancelled subscriptions may have been inflated in other Google Play Console reports.

The data from this time period has now been corrected.

Starting on 5 December 2016, we'll reduce the latency associated with updating your app's 'daily installs by user' and 'daily uninstalls by user' data on the Statistics page. This means that you'll be able to access this data sooner than you previously could.

For some apps, you may notice a slight shift in 'daily installs by user' and 'daily uninstalls by user' data on this date.

Store Listing experiment results

Starting from 30 November 2016, results for any new or pending store listing experiments will be based on the metric: 'Installs on active devices'.

If you started an experiment before 1 September that's scheduled to end after 1 December, we'll provide you with data going back to 1 September. For the most accurate results, we recommend ending any experiments that began before 1 September and creating a new experiment.

Current installs data

Your 'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' data will be available until 30 November 2016 on the Statistics page and in exports. For data after 30 November, use 'Installs on active devices' instead.

For more information, see the 'Introduction of installs on active devices' section below.

We're introducing a new metric called 'Installations on active devices'. Initially, you'll see this metric on your app's Statistics page, with data going back to 1 September.

Later this year, the new metric will replace 'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' in all current reports. You'll still be able to access historical data for the replaced metrics in charts and CSV downloads.

Why are install metrics changing?

'Installations on active devices' shows how many devices that have been online at least once in the past 30 days have your app installed.

Your app's 'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' data has included devices that were last active up until several months ago. By switching to 'Installs on active devices', we're able to focus on devices used within the last 30 days to show you recent user engagement with your app.

Impact on your metrics

Since 'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' included a longer activity window, it's expected that you'll see lower numbers for your app's 'Installs on active devices' data.

Timeline

We'll keep you updated on the timeline for this change within the announcement section of Play Console.

1. Open Play Console.
2. At the top-right corner of any page, select the bell icon .

Here's what you can expect:

Timeframe	Impact on data
29 Sept.	You can view 'Installs on active devices' as an additional data point on your app's Statistics page.
3 Nov.	'Installs on active devices' will become the default metric shown on your app's Statistics and All Applications pages and the Play Console app. 'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' will remain available on your app's Statistics page.
30 Nov.	'Current installs by device' and 'Current installs by user' will stop updating. Historical data will remain available in charts and CSV exports.

Starting from 29 November 2015, we will introduce new criteria for counting user and install metrics to account for users and devices going inactive. This change will affect the following metrics: 'Current installs by user', 'Current installs by device' and 'Total installs by user'.

As we make these changes, you may notice that these metrics decrease over time for some apps.

On 27 June 2015, we updated the install statistics on Play Console to use more accurate and reliable data.

As a result, some developers may see small changes in their apps’ install and uninstall data on their apps’ Statistics pages.

On 28 May 2014, we updated our statistics to make corrections to how we counted factory resets for pre-installed apps and apps that are used by multiple users on the same device. Most developers will see minimal impact to metrics, though certain developers will see significant impact to Daily Device Installs, Daily Device Uninstalls and Current Device Installs.

As of 5 August 2013, we are updating our stats algorithm to better identify active devices. This update will improve the accuracy of the installation metrics for active device installs and active user installs. When the new algorithm is rolled out, you may notice changes in some of the metrics associated with your app. Many apps will be affected by this change; however, we expect a difference of less than 2% for most apps.

From December 2012 to January 2013, developers may notice a decrease in the total user install and total device install counts of the paid apps displayed in Play Console. This is the result of an ongoing data migration, and is the true count for your app. The migration will be done in stages and will continue until January 2013. This migration will not affect previous developer payouts.

As of 4 April 2012, we have improved the accuracy of statistics regarding the Android platform version number. As a result, you will see fewer devices classified as 'Other' or '0' and more devices classified accurately

As of 13 February 2012, we have removed data about Android devices that are no longer active, which corrected active users and devices for many apps.

As of 28 January 2012, we have resolved an issue that caused undercounting of total user installs.

As of 2 May 2011, we've changed the basis for calculation of install numbers provided in Play Console. Previously, app installs were calculated per user and did not account for certain uninstall activities (for example, when a device was factory reset). Installs are now counted per device, with duplicates more effectively filtered out. This offers you a more accurate measure of your app distribution in the Android ecosystem.

You may notice that this change has resulted in a one-off decrease in the number of total installs for your apps. We apologise for any confusion that this may have caused.

As of 18 October 2011, developers may notice a decrease in the active install counts displayed in Play Console. Some app updates were being counted as device installs. We are now using a different calculation methodology which does not incorporate installing an app update. Going forward, the active installs metric will correctly reflect the device installations. Please note that total install counts were not affected.