CODEWITHSUNDEEP
google-tag-managerhybrid-mobile-appgoogle-analytics-4
killwilby
killwilby

Reputation: 19

How can I set up GTM and GA4 on a hybrid mobile app that uses a web configuration and not Firebase Mobile SDK?

I'm trying to set up GA4 tracking through GTM for a website that has an accompanying mobile app for a marketing client. The app is pretty much a carbon copy of the website, and is built by a third-party that also built the website. They claim that they use the Firebase web configuration rather than mobile for the app, so there's no need to install GA4 how you normally would for a mobile app - events and triggers should be firing in GTM for the app the same way they fire for the website. I will say the app does appear to just be using an embedded browser.

Is this even possible? I'm completely new to mobile apps, but it doesn't seem like events are firing in GA4 like they are for the site, and I can't find a good way to test this. I've tried setting debug_mode=true in my GA4 configuration in GTM, and it does nothing when I open the app on my phone. This is what the third-party company said when we asked them about the GA SDK:

The BidWrangler mobile app is a hybrid app built using web technologies. While BidWrangler apps do utilize Firebase, we use a web configuration rather than a mobile app configuration. As such, we do not utilize the Google/Firebase mobile SDK for our apps. Though perhaps not as thorough as the mobile SDK, there is data about mobile usage included in your existing implementation of Google Analytics.

We have no access to the backend of the app and I am not a programmer, so we are relying on the information they're giving us.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 895

Answers (1)

igorsantos07
igorsantos07

Reputation: 4686

If your hybrid app is served from file://, unfortunately there's a bug report from 3 years ago where Google blatantly ignores complaints from many types of users which were able to skip the protocol check in Google Analytics 3 and send events from their Chrome Extensions, hybrid Ionic/Cordova/etc apps, among others.

That's my case as well. Unfortunately, it seems the only exits are:

  • conforming with manual use of the Measurement Protocol, what means:
    1. you'll need to track all events manually
    2. you'll LOSE access to geographical and device information (unless you do manual geoIP and sniff device details to send... somewhere else? you'll have no details whatsoever about platform, versions, resolutions, cities and countries, nothing like that)
  • trying to tie in some hybrid platform plugin, like cordova-plugin-firebase-analytics. The most common result for Cordova on Google is cordova-plugin-google-analytics, but it's abandoned and stuck in GA3.

Upvotes: -1

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