If you’ve published an Android app on the Google Play Store, you may be wondering whether Google Play Console provides analytics that show how people are using your app. The answer is yes—but with some limitations.
Google Play Console offers valuable insights into app performance, installs, user retention, crashes, and revenue. However, if you’re looking for detailed in-app user behavior, you’ll need to integrate an analytics platform such as Firebase Analytics.
What Analytics Are Available in Google Play Console?
Google Play Console includes a built-in Statistics section that allows developers to monitor the overall health and performance of their app.
From the Statistics dashboard, you can track:
User Growth
- Total installs
- New users
- Returning users
- Daily Active Users (DAU)
- Weekly Active Users (WAU)
- Monthly Active Users (MAU)
- Uninstalls
These metrics help developers understand how their app’s audience is growing over time.
User Engagement Metrics
Google Play Console also provides engagement data, including:
- Daily active users
- Monthly active users
- User retention
- DAU/MAU engagement ratio
These reports can help determine whether users continue to return after installing the app.
Store Performance Analytics
The Play Console also measures how your app performs on the Google Play Store itself.
Available metrics include:
- Store listing visitors
- Install conversion rate
- Acquisition sources
- Downloads by country
- Device models
- Android OS versions
These insights help developers optimize their store listing and identify where their users are coming from.
Revenue and Monetization
If your app includes purchases or subscriptions, Google Play Console tracks:
- Total revenue
- Purchase volume
- Subscription performance
- Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
This data is especially useful for developers monetizing through Google Play Billing.
App Quality Reports
One of the strongest features of Google Play Console is its quality dashboard, which monitors your app’s stability and performance.
Developers can review:
- Crash rates
- ANR (Application Not Responding) rates
- Slow rendering issues
- Startup performance
- Battery usage
- Device-specific problems
These reports make it easier to identify and fix issues that impact the user experience.
Does Google Play Console Show How Users Use Your App?
Not exactly.
While Google Play Console provides excellent information about installs, active users, retention, and app quality, it does not provide detailed analytics on how users interact with your app.
For example, it cannot tell you:
- Which screens users visit most
- How long users stay on each page
- Which buttons they tap
- Where users abandon a process
- Custom event tracking
- User funnels
To access this level of insight, you’ll need to integrate a dedicated analytics platform.
Firebase Analytics Is the Recommended Solution
Google recommends using Firebase Analytics alongside Google Play Console.
Firebase allows developers to track:
- Screen views
- Session duration
- Custom events
- User journeys
- Feature usage
- Audience segmentation
- Funnels
- Engagement trends
Because Firebase is developed by Google, it integrates seamlessly with Android apps and other Firebase services such as Crashlytics, Cloud Messaging, and Remote Config.
The Best Approach: Use Both Together
For most Android developers, the best solution is to combine Google Play Console with Firebase Analytics.
Google Play Console is ideal for monitoring:
- Downloads
- Active users
- Retention
- Crashes
- Ratings and reviews
- Device compatibility
- Revenue
Firebase Analytics complements these reports by providing detailed insight into how users actually interact with your app after installing it.
Final Thoughts
Google Play Console is an essential tool for every Android developer, offering valuable analytics on installs, engagement, app quality, and monetization. However, if you need deeper insights into user behavior inside your app, integrating Firebase Analytics is the best option.
Using both platforms together gives developers a complete picture of their app’s performance, helping them improve user experience, increase retention, and make data-driven decisions.