iOS Swift SDK

This is the official documentation for the Amplitude Analytics iOS SDK.

A simpler way to use multiple Amplitude products

The new Unified SDK for Swift combines Analytics, Experiment, and Session Replay into a single, easy-to-use package.

Install the SDK

  1. Add the dependency to your Podfile:

    pod 'AmplitudeSwift', '~> 1.0'
  2. Run pod install in the project directory.

Initialize the SDK

You must initialize the SDK before you can instrument. The API key for your Amplitude project is required.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
autocapture: .all
))

Configure the SDK

Configuration options

Name Description Default Value
apiKey The apiKey of your project. nil
instanceName The name of the instance. Instances with the same name will share storage and identity. For isolated storage and identity use a unique instanceName for each instance. "default_instance"
storageProvider Implements a custom storageProvider class from Storage. Not supported in Objective-C. PersistentStorage
logLevel The log level enums: LogLevelEnum.OFF, LogLevelEnum.ERROR, LogLevelEnum.WARN, LogLevelEnum.LOG, LogLevelEnum.DEBUG LogLevelEnum.WARN
loggerProvider Implements a custom loggerProvider class from the Logger, and pass it in the configuration during the initialization to help with collecting any error messages from the SDK in a production environment. ConsoleLogger
flushIntervalMillis The amount of time SDK will attempt to upload the unsent events to the server or reach flushQueueSize threshold. 30000
flushQueueSize SDK will attempt to upload once unsent event count exceeds the event upload threshold or reach flushIntervalMillis interval. 30
flushMaxRetries Maximum retry times. 6
minIdLength The minimum length for user id or device id. 5
partnerId The partner id for partner integration. nil
identifyBatchIntervalMillis The amount of time SDK will attempt to batch intercepted identify events. 30000
flushEventsOnClose Flushing of unsent events on app close. true
callback Callback function after event sent. nil
optOut Opt the user out of tracking. false
defaultTracking (Deprecated. Use autocapture instead.) Enable tracking of default events for sessions, app lifecycles, screen views, and deep links. DefaultTrackingOptions(sessions: true)
autocapture Enable tracking of Autocapture events for sessions, app lifecycles, screen views, deep links, network requests, and element interactions. AutocaptureOptions.sessions
enableAutoCaptureRemoteConfig Enable remote configuration for autocapture settings. When enabled, Autocapture settings are updateable remotely after initialization. true
minTimeBetweenSessionsMillis The amount of time for session timeout. 300000
serverUrl The server url events upload to. https://api2.amplitude.com/2/httpapi
serverZone The server zone to send to, will adjust server url based on this config. US
useBatch Whether to use batch api. false
trackingOptions Options to control the values tracked in SDK. enable
enableCoppaControl Whether to enable COPPA control for tracking options. false
migrateLegacyData Available in 0.4.7+. Whether to migrate maintenance SDK data (events, user/device ID). true
offline Available in 1.2.0+. Whether the SDK is connected to network. Learn more here. false
maxQueuedEventCount Available in 1.9.1+. Maximum number of events to retain in storage. When set to a positive number, the SDK removes oldest events at startup to maintain this limit. When set to -1, no cleanup occurs. -1

Track events

Events represent how users interact with your application. For example, "Button Clicked" may be an action you want to note.

let event = BaseEvent(
eventType: "Button Clicked",
eventProperties: ["my event prop key": "my event prop value"]
)
amplitude.track(event: event)

Another way to instrument basic tracking event.

amplitude.track(
eventType: "Button Clicked",
eventProperties: ["my event prop key": "my event prop value"]
)

Identify

Note

Starting from release v0.4.0, identify events with only set operations will be batched and sent with fewer events. This change won't affect running the set operations. There is a config identifyBatchIntervalMillis for managing the interval to flush the batched identify intercepts.

Identify is for setting the user properties of a particular user without sending any event. The SDK supports the operations set, setOnce, unset, add, append, prepend, preInsert, postInsert, and remove on individual user properties. Declare the operations via a provided Identify interface. You can chain together multiple operations in a single Identify object. The Identify object is then passed to the Amplitude client to send to the server.

Note

If the Identify call is sent after the event, the results of operations will be visible immediately in the dashboard user's profile area, but it will not appear in chart result until another event is sent after the Identify call. The identify call only affects events going forward. More details here.

You can handle the identity of a user using the identify methods. Proper use of these methods can connect events to the correct user as they move across devices, browsers, and other platforms. Send an identify call containing those user property operations to Amplitude server to tie a user's events with specific user properties.

let identify = Identify()
identify.set(property: "color", value: "green")
amplitude.identify(identify: identify)

Autocapture

Starting from release v1.8.0, the SDK is able to track more events without manual instrumentation. It can be configured to track the following events automatically:

  • Sessions
  • App lifecycles
  • Screen views
  • Element interactions

Autocapture options

Name Type Enabled by default Description
sessions AutocaptureOptions Yes Enables session tracking. If the option is set, Amplitude tracks session start and session end events otherwise, Amplitude doesn't track session events. When this setting isn't set, Amplitude tracks sessionId only. See Track sessions for more information.
appLifecycles AutocaptureOptions No Enables application lifecycle events tracking. If the option is set, Amplitude tracks application installed, application updated, application opened, and application backgrounded events. Event properties tracked include: [Amplitude] Version, [Amplitude] Build, [Amplitude] Previous Version, [Amplitude] Previous Build, [Amplitude] From Background. See Track application lifecycles for more information.
screenViews AutocaptureOptions No Enables screen views tracking. If the option is set, Amplitude tracks screen viewed events. Event properties tracked include: [Amplitude] Screen Name. See Track screen views for more information.
elementInteractions AutocaptureOptions No Enables element interaction tracking. If the option is set, Amplitude tracks user interactions with UIControl element and UIGestureRecognizer. Event properties tracked include: [Amplitude] Action, [Amplitude] Target View Class, [Amplitude] Target Text, [Amplitude] Action Method, [Amplitude] Gesture Recognizer, [Amplitude] Hierarchy, [Amplitude] Accessibility Identifier, [Amplitude] Accessibility Label, [Amplitude] Screen Name. See Track element interactions for more information.
networkTracking AutocaptureOptions No Enables network tracking. If the option is set, Amplitude tracks network requests. Event properties tracked include: [Amplitude] URL, [Amplitude] URL Query, [Amplitude] URL Fragment, [Amplitude] Request Method, [Amplitude] Status Code, [Amplitude] Error Code, [Amplitude] Error Message, [Amplitude] Start Time, [Amplitude] End Time, [Amplitude] Duration, [Amplitude] Request Body Size, [Amplitude] Response Body Size. See Track network requests for more information.

You can configure Amplitude to start tracking Autocapture events. Otherwise, you can omit the configuration to keep only session tracking enabled.

The autocapture configuration accepts an OptionSet with AutocaptureOptions values.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: [.sessions, .appLifecycles, .screenViews, .networkTracking]
))

By default, if the autocapture configuration isn't explicitly set during Configuration initialization, configuration.autocapture will automatically include AutocaptureOptions.sessions.

If you want to prevent automatic session events capture, set autocapture without the AutocaptureOptions.sessions option.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .appLifecycles // or use `[]` to disable Autocapture.
))

Remote configuration for autocapture

Starting from release v1.10.0, the SDK supports remote configuration for autocapture settings. This feature allows you to update autocapture settings after initialization without requiring an app update.

By default, remote configuration for autocapture is enabled. You can disable it by setting enableAutoCaptureRemoteConfig to false in the configuration:

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: [.sessions, .appLifecycles, .screenViews],
enableAutoCaptureRemoteConfig: false
))

When you enable remote configuration, the SDK checks for updates to Autocapture settings in your project. If updates are available, the SDK applies them automatically. This allows you to:

  • Enable or disable specific autocapture features remotely
  • Change autocapture settings without requiring users to update the app

Changes made through remote configuration affect future events and don't apply to events that are already tracked.

Track sessions

Amplitude enables session tracking by default. Include AutocaptureOptions.sessions in the autocapture configuration to explicitly configure the SDK to track session events or to enable session event tracking along with other Autocapture configurations.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .sessions
))

For more information about session tracking, see User sessions.

Note

trackingSessionEvents is deprecated and replaced with the AutocaptureOptions.sessions option of the autocapture configuration.

Track application lifecycles

You can enable Amplitude to start tracking application lifecycle events by including AutocaptureOptions.appLifecycles in the autocapture configuration.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .appLifecycles
))

When you enable this setting, Amplitude tracks the following events:

  • [Amplitude] Application Installed, this event fires when a user opens the application for the first time right after installation, by observing the UIApplicationDidFinishLaunchingNotification notification underneath.
  • [Amplitude] Application Updated, this event fires when a user opens the application after updating the application, by observing the UIApplicationDidFinishLaunchingNotification notification underneath.
  • [Amplitude] Application Opened, this event fires when a user launches or foregrounds the application after the first open, by observing the UIApplicationDidFinishLaunchingNotification or UIApplicationWillEnterForegroundNotification notification underneath.
  • [Amplitude] Application Backgrounded, this event fires when a user backgrounds the application, by observing the UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification notification underneath.

Track screen views

You can enable Amplitude to start tracking screen view events by including AutocaptureOptions.screenViews in the autocapture configuration.

Warning

This feature is supported in UIKit. For SwiftUI, track the corresponding event manually.

// UIKit
let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .screenViews
))
 
// Swift UI
let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: []
))
amplitude.track(ScreenViewedEvent(screenName: "Screen Name"))

When you enable this setting, Amplitude tracks the [Amplitude] Screen Viewed event and sets the screen name property of this event to the name of the top-most view controller's class. Amplitude reads this value from the controller class metadata viewDidAppear method swizzling.

Track network requests

You can enable Amplitude to start tracking network requests by including AutocaptureOptions.networkTracking in the autocapture configuration.

Warning

This feature doesn't work with requests sent by URLConnection or on watchOS and iOS 13.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .networkTracking
))

With the default configuration, the SDK tracks network requests from all hosts (except *.amplitude.com) with status code 500 to 599. To customize the tracking behavior, set Configuration.networkTrackingOptions with NetworkTrackingOptions.

NetworkTrackingOptions

Name Description Default Value
captureRules The rules for capturing network requests. You should always append rules with specific hosts to the bottom of the list. none
ignoreHosts The hosts to ignore. Supports wildcard characters *. eg. ["*"] to ignore all hosts, ["*.notmyapi.com", "notmyapi.com"] to ignore notmyapi.com and all subdomains. []
ignoreAmplitudeRequests Whether to ignore Amplitude requests. true

NetworkTrackingOptions.CaptureRule

Name Description Default Value
hosts The hosts to capture. Supports wildcard characters *. eg. ["*"] to match all hosts, ["*.example.com", "example.com"] to match example.com and all subdomains. none
statusCodeRange The status code range to capture. Supports comma-separated ranges or single status codes. eg. "0,200-299,413,500-599" "500-599"

Note

  • The captureRules and ignoreHosts properties are mutually exclusive. If both are set, ignoreHosts takes precedence.
  • Amplitude matches incoming requests against the captureRules from bottom to top. For example, for the following configuration:
captureRules: [
.init(hosts: ["*"], statusCodeRange: "400-499,500-599"),
.init(hosts: ["*.example.com", "example.com"], statusCodeRange: "0,500-599"),
]

With the above configuration, the SDK processes the following requests:

  • A request to example.com with response code 503: match with last rule's hosts -> match with statusCodeRange filter -> captured
  • A request to example.com with response code 401: match with last rule's hosts -> not match with statusCodeRange filter -> ignored
  • A request to notmyapi.com with response code 401: not match with last rule's hosts -> match with first rule's hosts -> match with statusCodeRange filter -> captured
  • A request to notmyapi.com with response code 200: not match with last rule's hosts -> match with first rule's hosts -> not match with statusCodeRange filter -> ignored

The default configuration tracks all hosts except *.amplitude.com with status code 500 to 599.

NetworkTrackingOptions.default

Name Description Value
captureRules Captures all hosts (except *.amplitude.com) with status code 500 to 599. [AMPNetworkTrackingCaptureRule(hosts: ["*"], statusCodeRange: "500-599")]
ignoreHosts Don't ignore any other hosts by default. []
ignoreAmplitudeRequests Don't capture Amplitude requests by default. true

Example use:

// Style 1: Use the default configuration and append a new rule
let networkTrackingOptions = NetworkTrackingOptions.default // contain a rule for all hosts, statusCodeRange: "500-599"
networkTrackingOptions.captureRules.append(
.init(hosts: ["*.example.com", "example.com"], statusCodeRange: "0,500-599")
)
networkTrackingOptions.ignoreHosts.append("notmyapi.com")
 
let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .networkTracking,
networkTrackingOptions: networkTrackingOptions,
))
 
// Style 2: Create a new configuration with a custom rule
let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .networkTracking,
networkTrackingOptions: .init(
captureRules: [
.init(hosts: ["*"]), // all hosts, statusCodeRange: "500-599"
.init(hosts: ["*.example.com", "example.com"], statusCodeRange: "0,400-599"),
],
ignoreHosts: ["notmyapi.com"]
),
))

When you enable this setting, Amplitude tracks the [Amplitude] Network Request event whenever the application makes a network request. The SDK swizzles URL loading system methods to instrument network activity.

Event Properties Descriptions

Event property Description
[Amplitude] URL The URL of the network request with sensitive information masked.
[Amplitude] URL Query The query parameters of the URL.
[Amplitude] URL Fragment The fragment identifier of the URL.
[Amplitude] Request Method The HTTP method used for the request (GET, POST, etc.).
[Amplitude] Status Code The HTTP status code of the response.
[Amplitude] Error Code The local error code if the request failed with out a status code.
[Amplitude] Error Message The local error message if the request failed with out a status code.
[Amplitude] Start Time The timestamp when the request started, in milliseconds since Unix epoch.
[Amplitude] Completion Time The timestamp when the request completed, in milliseconds since Unix epoch.
[Amplitude] Duration The duration of the request in milliseconds.
[Amplitude] Request Body Size The size of the request body in bytes.
[Amplitude] Response Body Size The size of the response body in bytes.

Info

For security purposes, the SDK automatically masks sensitive information in the URL, such as usernames and passwords.

Deeplink tracking isn't automated. To track deeplinks, track the corresponding events.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY"
))
 
amplitude.track(DeepLinkOpenedEvent(url: URL()))
amplitude.track(DeepLinkOpenedEvent(url: "url", referrer:"referrer"))
amplitude.track(DeepLinkOpenedEvent(activity: activity))

Amplitude tracks the [Amplitude] Deep Link Opened event with the URL and referrer information.

Track element interactions

Amplitude can track user interactions with UIControl elements and UIGestureRecognizer objects in UIKit applications. To enable this option, include AutocaptureOptions.elementInteractions in the autocapture configuration.

Note

The AutocaptureOptions.elementInteractions option is available as a beta release for early feedback. Try it out and share your thoughts on our GitHub.

let amplitude = Amplitude(configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API_KEY",
autocapture: .elementInteractions
))

After enabling this setting, Amplitude tracks the [Amplitude] Element Interacted event whenever a user interacts with an element in the application. The SDK swizzles the UIApplication.sendAction(_:to:from:for:) method and the UIGestureRecognizer.state property setter to instrument UIControl action methods and UIGestureRecognizer within the application, respectively.

Event Properties Descriptions

Event property Description
[Amplitude] Action The action that triggered the event. Defaults to touch.
[Amplitude] Target View Class The name of the target view class.
[Amplitude] Target Text The title of the target UIControl element.
[Amplitude] Target Accessibility Label The accessibility label of the target element.
[Amplitude] Target Accessibility Identifier The accessibility identifier of the target element.
[Amplitude] Action Method The name of the function or method that is triggered when the interaction occurs.
[Amplitude] Gesture Recognizer The name of the UIGestureRecognizer class that recognizes the interaction.
[Amplitude] Hierarchy A nested hierarchy of the target view's class inheritance, from the most specific to the most general.
[Amplitude] Screen Name See Track screen views.

Info

Currently, Amplitude does not supports tracking user interactions with UI elements in SwiftUI.

User groups

Amplitude supports assigning users to groups and performing queries, such as Count by Distinct, on those groups. If at least one member of the group has performed the specific event, then the count includes the group.

For example, you want to group your users based on what organization they're in by using an 'orgId'. Joe is in 'orgId' '10', and Sue is in 'orgId' '15'. Sue and Joe both perform a certain event. You can query their organizations in the Event Segmentation Chart.

When setting groups, define a groupType and groupName. In the previous example, 'orgId' is the groupType and '10' and '15' are the values for groupName. Another example of a groupType could be 'sport' with groupName values like 'tennis' and 'baseball'.

Setting a group also sets the groupType:groupName as a user property, and overwrites any existing groupName value set for that user's groupType, and the corresponding user property value. groupType is a string, and groupName can be either a string or an array of strings to indicate that a user is in multiple groups.

Example

If Joe is in 'orgId' '15', then the groupName would be '15'.

// set group with a single group name
amplitude.setGroup(groupType: "orgId", groupName: "15")

If Joe is in 'orgId' 'sport', then the groupName would be '["tennis", "soccer"]'.

// set group with multiple group names
amplitude.setGroup(groupType: "sport", groupName: ["tennis", "soccer"])

You can also set event-level groups by passing an Event Object with groups to track. With event-level groups, the group designation applies only to the specific event being logged, and doesn't persist on the user unless you explicitly set it with setGroup.

amplitude.track(
event: BaseEvent(
eventType: "event type",
eventProperties: [
"eventPropertyKey": "eventPropertyValue"
],
groups: ["orgId": "15"]
)
)

Group identify

Use the Group Identify API to set or update the properties of particular groups. Keep these considerations in mind:

  • Updates affect only future events, and don't update historical events.
  • You can track up to 5 unique group types and 10 total groups.

The groupIdentify method accepts a group type string parameter and group name object parameter, and an Identify object that's applied to the group.

let groupType = "plan"
let groupName = "enterprise"
let identify = Identify().set(property: "key", value: "value")
amplitude.groupIdentify(groupType: groupType, groupName: groupProperty, identify: identify)

Track revenue

Amplitude can track revenue generated by a user. Revenue is tracked through distinct revenue objects, which have special fields that are used in Amplitude's Event Segmentation and Revenue LTV charts. This allows Amplitude to automatically display data relevant to revenue in the platform. Revenue objects support the following special properties, as well as user-defined properties through the eventProperties field.

let revenue = Revenue()
revenue.price = 3.99
revenue.quantity = 3
revenue.productId = "com.company.productId"
amplitude.revenue(revenue: revenue)

Name Description
productId Optional. String. An identifier for the product. Amplitude recommends something like the Google Play Store product ID. Defaults to null.
quantity Required. Integer. The quantity of products purchased. Note: revenue = quantity * price. Defaults to 1
price Required. Double. The price of the products purchased, and this can be negative. Note: revenue = quantity * price. Defaults to null.
revenueType Optional, but required for revenue verification. String. The revenue type (for example, tax, refund, income). Defaults to null.
receipt Optional. String. The receipt identifier of the revenue. For example, "123456". Defaults to null.
receiptSignature Optional, but required for revenue verification. String. Defaults to null.

Custom user ID

If your app has its login system that you want to track users with, you can call setUserId at any time.

amplitude.setUserId(userId: "user@amplitude.com")

Custom device ID

You can assign a new device ID using deviceId. When setting a custom device ID, make sure the value is sufficiently unique. Amplitude recommends using a UUID.

amplitude.setDeviceId(NSUUID().uuidString)

Custom storage

Swift only

This feature supports Swift, but not Objective C

If you don't want to store the data in the Amplitude-defined location, you can customize your own storage by implementing the Storage protocol and setting the storageProvider in your configuration.

Every iOS app gets a slice of storage just for itself, meaning that you can read and write your app's files there without worrying about colliding with other apps. By default, Amplitude uses this file storage and creates an "amplitude" prefixed folder inside the app "Documents" directory. However, if you need to expose the Documents folder in the native iOS "Files" app and don't want expose "amplitude" prefixed folder, you can customize your own storage provider to persist events on initialization.

Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
storageProvider: YourOwnStorage() // YourOwnStorage() should implement Storage
)
)

Reset when the user logs out

reset is a shortcut to anonymize users after they log out, by:

  • setting userId to null
  • setting deviceId to a new value based on current configuration

With an empty userId and a completely new deviceId, the current user would appear as a brand new user in dashboard.

amplitude.reset()

Plugins

Plugins enable you to extend Amplitude SDK's behavior by, for example, modifying event properties (enrichment type) or sending to third-party APIs (destination type). A plugin is an object with methods setup() and execute().

Plugin.setup

This method contains logic for preparing the plugin for use and has amplitude instance as a parameter. A typical use for this method, is to instantiate plugin dependencies. This method is called when the plugin is registered to the client via amplitude.add().

Plugin.execute

This method contains the logic for processing events and has event instance as parameter. If used as enrichment type plugin, the expected return value is the modified/enriched event. If used as a destination type plugin, the expected return value is null. This method is called for each event, including Identify, GroupIdentify and Revenue events, that's instrumented using the client interface.

Enrichment type plugin example

Here's an example of a plugin that modifies each event that's instrumented by adding extra event property.

class EnrichmentPlugin: Plugin {
let type: PluginType
var amplitude: Amplitude?
 
init() {
self.type = PluginType.enrichment
}
 
func setup(amplitude: Amplitude) {
self.amplitude = amplitude
}
 
func execute(event: BaseEvent?) -> BaseEvent? {
event?.sessionId = -1
if event?.eventProperties == nil {
event?.eventProperties = [:]
}
event?.eventProperties?["event prop key"] = "event prop value"
return event
}
}
 
amplitude.add(plugin: EnrichmentPlugin())

Destination type plugin example

In destination plugins, you can overwrite the track(), identify(), groupIdentify(), revenue(), and flush() functions.

Objective-C not supported

Objective-C supports flush() and general execute() functions.

class TestDestinationPlugin: DestinationPlugin {
override func track(event: BaseEvent) -> BaseEvent? {
return event
}
 
override func identify(event: IdentifyEvent) -> IdentifyEvent? {
return event
}
 
override func groupIdentify(event: GroupIdentifyEvent) -> GroupIdentifyEvent? {
return event
}
 
override func revenue(event: RevenueEvent) -> RevenueEvent? {
return event
}
 
override func flush() {
}
 
override func setup(amplitude: Amplitude) {
self.amplitude = amplitude
}
 
override func execute(event: BaseEvent?) -> BaseEvent? {
return event
}
}

Troubleshooting and debugging

Ensure that the configuration and payload are accurate and check for any unusual messages during the debugging process. If everything appears to be right, check the value of flushQueueSize or flushIntervalMillis. Events are queued and sent in batches by default, which means they are not immediately dispatched to the server. Ensure that you have waited for the events to be sent to the server before checking for them in the charts.

Log

  • Set the log level to debug to collect useful information during debugging.
  • Customize loggerProvider class from the LoggerProvider and implement your own logic, such as logging error message in server in a production environment.

Plugin

Take advantage of a Destination Plugin to print out the configuration value and event payload before sending them to the server. You can set the logLevel to debug, copy the following TroubleShootingPlugin into your project, add the plugin into the Amplitude instance.

SwiftUI TroubleShootingPlugin example.

Event callback

The event callback executes after the event is sent, for both successful and failed events. Use this method to monitor the event status and message. For more information, see configuration > callback.

Advanced topics

User sessions

Amplitude starts a session when the app is brought into the foreground or when an event is tracked in the background. A session ends when the app remains in the background for more than the time set by setMinTimeBetweenSessionsMillis() without any event being tracked. Note that a session will continue for the entire time the app is in the foreground no matter whether session tracking is enabled by configuration.defaultTracking, configuration.autocapture or not.

When the app enters the foreground, Amplitude tracks a session start, and starts a countdown based on setMinTimeBetweenSessionsMillis(). Amplitude extends the session and restarts the countdown any time it tracks a new event. If the countdown expires, Amplitude waits until the next event to track a session end event.

Amplitude doesn't set user properties on session events by default. To add these properties, use identify() and setUserId(). Amplitude aggregates the user property state and associates the user with events based on device_id or user_id.

Due to the way in which Amplitude manages sessions, there are scenarios where the SDK works expected but it may appear as if events are missing or session tracking is inaccurate:

  • If a user doesn't return to the app, Amplitude does not track a session end event to correspond with a session start event.
  • If you track an event in the background, it's possible that Amplitude perceives the session length to be longer than the user spends on the app in the foreground.
  • If you modify user properties between the last event and the session end event, the session end event reflects the updated user properties, which may differ from other properties associated with events in the same session. To address this, use an enrichment plugin to set event['$skip_user_properties_sync'] to true on the session end event, which prevents Amplitude from synchronizing properties for that specific event. See $skip_user_properties_sync in the Converter Configuration Reference article to learn more.

Amplitude groups events together by session. Events that are logged within the same session have the same session_id. Sessions are handled automatically so you don't have to manually call startSession() or endSession().

You can adjust the time window for which sessions are extended. The default session expiration time is five minutes.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
minTimeBetweenSessionsMillis: 1000
)
)

Note

trackingSessionEvents is deprecated and replaced with the AutocaptureOptions.sessions option of autocapture.

You can also track events as out-of-session. Out-of-session events have a sessionId of -1 and behave as follows:

  1. Aren't part of the current session.
  2. Don't extend the current session.
  3. Don't start a new session.
  4. Don't change the sessionId for subsequent events.

A potential use case is for events tracked from push notifications, which are usually external to the customers app usage.

Set the sessionId to -1 in EventOptions to mark an event as out-of-session when you call track(event, options) or identify(identify, options).

let outOfSessionOptions = EventOptions(sessionId: -1)
 
amplitude.identify(
event: Identify().set(property: "user-prop", value: true),
options: outOfSessionOptions
)
 
amplitude.track(
event: BaseEvent(eventType: "Button Clicked"),
options: outOfSessionOptions
)

Log level

control the level of logs that print to the developer console.

  • 'OFF': Suppresses all log messages.
  • 'ERROR': Shows error messages only.
  • 'WARN': Shows error messages and warnings. This level logs issues that might be a problem and cause some oddities in the data. For example, this level would display a warning for properties with null values.
  • 'LOG': Shows informative messages about events.
  • 'DEBUG': Shows error messages, warnings, and informative messages that may be useful for debugging.

Set the log level logLevel with the level you want.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
logLevel: LogLevelEnum.LOG
)
)

Amplitude merges user data, so any events associated with a known userId or deviceId are linked the existing user.
If a user logs out, Amplitude can merge that user's logged-out events to the user's record. You can change this behavior and log those events to an anonymous user instead.

To log events to an anonymous user:

  1. Set the userId to null.
  2. Generate a new deviceId.

Events coming from the current user or device appear as a new user in Amplitude. Note: If you do this, you can't see that the two users were using the same device.

amplitude.reset()

Disable tracking

By default the iOS SDK tracks several user properties such as carrier, city, country, ip_address, language, and platform.
Use the provided TrackingOptions interface to customize and toggle individual fields.
Before initializing the SDK with your apiKey, create a TrackingOptions instance with your configuration and set it on the SDK instance.

let trackingOptions = TrackingOptions()
trackingOptions.disableTrackCity().disableTrackIpAddress()
let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
trackingOptions: trackingOptions
)
)

Tracking for each field can be individually controlled, and has a corresponding method (for example, disableCountry, disableLanguage).

Method Description
disableTrackCarrier() Disable tracking of device's carrier
disableTrackCity() Disable tracking of user's city
disableTrackCountry() Disable tracking of user's country
disableTrackDeviceModel() Disable tracking of device model
disableTrackDeviceManufacturer() Disable tracking of device manufacturer
disableTrackDMA() Disable tracking of user's designated market area (DMA)
disableTrackIpAddress() Disable tracking of user's IP address
disableTrackLanguage() Disable tracking of device's language
disableTrackIDFV()
disableTrackOsName() Disable tracking of device's OS Name
disableTrackOsVersion() Disable tracking of device's OS Version
disableTrackPlatform() Disable tracking of device's platform
disableTrackRegion() Disable tracking of user's region
disableTrackVersionName() Disable tracking of your app's version name

Note

Using TrackingOptions only prevents default properties from being tracked on newly created projects, where data has not yet been sent. If you have a project with existing data that you want to stop collecting the default properties for, get help in the Amplitude Community. Disabling tracking doesn't delete any existing data in your project.

Carrier

Amplitude determines the user's mobile carrier using CTTelephonyNetworkInfo, which returns the registered operator of the sim.

COPPA control

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) restrictions on IDFA, IDFV, city, IP address and location tracking can all be enabled or disabled at one time. Apps that ask for information from children under 13 years of age must comply with COPPA.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
enableCoppaControl: true
)
)

Advertiser ID

Advertiser ID (also referred to as IDFA) is a unique identifier provided by the iOS and Google Play stores. As it's unique to every person and not just their devices, it's useful for mobile attribution.

Mobile attribution is the attribution of an installation of a mobile app to its original source (such as ad campaign, app store search). Mobile apps need permission to ask for IDFA, and apps targeted to children can't track at all. Consider using IDFV, device ID, or an email login system when IDFA isn't available.

To retrieve the IDFA and add it to the tracking events, you can follow this example plugin to implement your own plugin.

Device ID lifecycle

The SDK initializes the device ID in the following order, with the device ID being set to the first valid value encountered:

  1. Device ID of Amplitude instance if it’s set by setDeviceId()
  2. IDFV if it exists
  3. A randomly generated UUID string

One user with multiple devices

A single user may have multiple devices, each having a different device ID. To ensure coherence, set the user ID consistently across all these devices. Even though the device IDs differ, Amplitude can still merge them into a single Amplitude ID, thus identifying them as a unique user.

Transfer to a new device

It's possible for multiple devices to have the same device ID when a user switches to a new device. When transitioning to a new device, users often transfer their applications along with other relevant data. The specific transferred content may vary depending on the application. In general, it includes databases and file directories associated with the app. However, the exact items included depend on the app's design and the choices made by the developers. If databases or file directories have been backed up from one device to another, the device ID stored within them may still be present. Consequently, if the SDK attempts to retrieve it during initialization, different devices might end up using the same device ID.

Get device ID

Use the helper method getDeviceId() to get the value of the current deviceId.

let deviceId = amplitude.getDeviceId()

To set the device, see custom device ID.

Location tracking

Amplitude converts the IP of a user event into a location (GeoIP lookup) by default. This information may be overridden by an app's own tracking solution or user data.

Opt users out of tracking

Users may wish to opt out of tracking entirely, which means Amplitude doesn't track any of their events or browsing history. OptOut provides a way to fulfill a user's requests for privacy.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
optOut: true
)
)

Set log callback

Implements a customized loggerProvider class from the LoggerProvider, and pass it in the configuration during the initialization to help with collecting any error messages from the SDK in a production environment.

class SampleLogger: Logger {
typealias LogLevel = LogLevelEnum
 
var logLevel: Int
 
init(logLevel: Int = LogLevelEnum.OFF.rawValue) {
self.logLevel = logLevel
}
 
func error(message: String) {
// TODO: handle error message
}
 
func warn(message: String) {
// TODO: handle warn message
}
 
func log(message: String) {
// TODO: handle log message
}
 
func debug(message: String) {
// TODO: handle debug message
}
}
 
let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: AMPLITUDE_API_KEY,
loggerProvider: SampleLogger()
)
)

Security

iOS automatically protects application data by storing each apps data in its own secure directory. This directory is usually not accessible by other applications. However, if a device is jailbroken, apps are granted root access to all directories on the device.

To prevent other apps from accessing your apps Amplitude data on a jailbroken device, Amplitude recommends setting a unique instance name for your SDK. This creates a unique database isolates it from other apps.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API-KEY",
instanceName: "my-unqiue-instance-name"
)
)

Offline mode

Beginning with version 1.3.0, the Amplitude iOS Swift SDK supports offline mode. The SDK checks network connectivity every time it tracks an event. If the device is connected to network, the SDK schedules a flush. If not, it saves the event to storage. The SDK also listens for changes in network connectivity and flushes all stored events when the device reconnects.

To disable offline mode, add offline: NetworkConnectivityCheckerPlugin.Disabled on initialization as shown below.

let amplitude = Amplitude(
configuration: Configuration(
apiKey: "API-KEY",
offline: NetworkConnectivityCheckerPlugin.Disabled
)
)

You can also implement you own offline logic:

  1. Disable the default offline logic as above.
  2. Toggle amplitude.configuration.offline by yourself.

Apple privacy manifest

Starting December 8, 2020, Apple requires a privacy manifest file for all new apps and app updates. Apple expects to make this mandatory in the Spring of 2024. As Amplitude is a third-party to your app, you need to ensure you properly disclose to your users the ways you use Amplitude in regards to their data.

Update the privacy manifest based on your app

Amplitude sets privacy manifest based on a default configuration. Update the privacy manifest according to your configuration and your app.

NSPrivacyTracking

Tracking definition

Tracking refers to the act of linking user or device data collected from your app with user or device data collected from other companies' apps, websites, or offline properties for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes. For more information, see Apple's article User privacy and data use.

By default, Amplitude doesn't use data for tracking. Add this field and set it to true if your app does.

NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypes

Date type Linked to user Used for tracking Reason for collection Where it's tracked
Product interaction Yes No Analytics Such as app launches, taps, clicks, scrolling information, music listening data, video views, saved place in a game, video, or song, or other information about how the user interacts with the app.
Device ID Yes No Analytics Tracked by default. Learn more here
Coarse Location Yes No Analytics Country, region, and city based on IP address. Amplitude doesn't collect them from device GPS or location features.

By default the SDK tracks deviceId only. You can use setUserId() to track userId as well. To do so, add the "User ID" Data type. For more information about data types, see Apple's article Describing data use in privacy manifests.

NSPrivacyTrackingDomains

If you set NSPrivacyTracking to true then you need to provide at least one internet domain in NSPrivacyTrackingDomains based on your configuraiton.

Domain Description
https://api2.amplitude.com/2/httpapi The default HTTP V2 endpoint.
https://api.eu.amplitude.com/2/httpapi EU endpoint if configuration.serverZone = EU.
https://api2.amplitude.com/batch Batch endpoint if configuration.useBatch = true.
https://api.eu.amplitude.com/batch Batch EU endpoint if configuration.useBatch = true and configuration.serverZone = EU.

NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes

The SDK only uses userDefaults API for identity storage.

Create your app's privacy report

Follow the steps on how to create your app's privacy.

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July 23rd, 2024

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