Learn How the App Store Delivers Privacy-Friendly Analytics
App Store Connect Analytics feels limited at first glance. The web interface shows only a small set of metrics, and it does not let you follow individual users through your app.
Behind that interface, however, Apple collects much more data. It tracks downloads, revenue, crashes, sessions, feature usage, and framework usage. The important question is how Apple makes these reports available without exposing individual users.
This article explains that trade-off. We first look at the data Apple collects. Then we look at how the App Store Connect Analytics Reports API exposes that data and why the report format protects individual users.
Data Apple Collects
Apple collects a wide range of data about apps. Some reports cover obvious metrics such as downloads and revenue. Other reports go much deeper and describe how apps use specific system frameworks.
Framework usage data depends on the iPhone analytics opt-in in the Settings app. If a user enables iPhone analytics sharing, Apple can include that user's framework usage in aggregated App Store reports. If the user disables analytics sharing, that user's framework usage is not included.
These framework-based reports can cover areas such as Shortcuts, camera, video, hardware accessories, widgets, and Live Activities.
The App Store Opt-in report gives framework reports a denominator. It shows how many users agreed to share iPhone analytics.
By comparing a framework report with the opt-in report, you can estimate a usage rate instead of only reading the raw count. If 100 opted-in users are available for a period and 20 appear in a framework usage report, the report points to a 20% usage rate within the opted-in user base.
How to Access the Data
The App Store Connect web interface shows only part of Apple's analytics data. To access the raw reports, you need to use the App Store Connect Analytics Reports API.
The API workflow has two parts. First, you request the reports. Then you download the generated files and inspect their structure.
App Store Connect API
The App Store Connect Analytics Reports API provides endpoints for requesting and downloading analytics reports for your apps.
There are two ways to request data. A one-time snapshot creates reports for the available historical data, often going back to the beginning of 2024. An ongoing request creates reports on a recurring basis. Ongoing reports can be available in daily, weekly, or monthly granularity.
Once a request has data, Apple splits the result into smaller parts. A request can contain multiple instances for different report types, granularities, and processing dates. The processing date tells you when Apple generated the report and which data Apple included at that point.
Each instance contains one or more segments. The number of segments depends on the size of the user base and the report. Each segment contains a CSV file with the actual data.
Data Format
The CSV structure is the main reason why these reports are privacy-friendly. The rows describe groups of users or actions, not individual users.
A common report contains columns such as date, device, territory, count, and often platform version. The count column contains the aggregated value for one unique combination of the other columns.
For example, a Shortcuts Actions Usage report may contain a row like this:
| Date | Action Identifier | Completed | Device | Territory | Count | Unique Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-20 | com.example.export-pdf | true | iPhone | US | 7 | 5 |
This row means that users in the US completed the com.example.export-pdf shortcut action seven times on iPhone on April 20, 2026. Those seven actions came from five unique devices. If one of those devices had been an iPad, Apple would place that activity in a separate row because the device value changed.
The aggregated CSV format protects privacy because users are grouped with other users who share the same report properties. For most report types, Apple requires enough data to pass a privacy threshold for the report to be available. If all possible rows for a report stay below that threshold, Apple does not generate a report for that period.
The same structure also prevents session tracking. Apple does not expose a user identifier, and the Analytics Reports API does not provide an endpoint for reconstructing full user journeys.
The data can also change after Apple first publishes it. Apple may apply data completeness corrections, which means reports for the same day can change in the following days. Even when a report exists, individual rows can be missing when a specific combination of properties does not pass the privacy threshold.
For that reason, raw App Store reports need context. You should pull them regularly, account for later corrections, and compare framework reports with the opt-in report when you want to estimate usage rates.
Wrap-Up
Apple provides detailed app analytics without exposing individual users. The core idea is simple: reports are aggregated, rows must pass privacy thresholds, and user-level identifiers are not available.
The aggregated report model also creates limits. Small apps may see fewer report types because their data does not pass the privacy threshold. Detailed user and session tracking is not possible because Apple does not expose internal user identifiers. Still, Apple's reports can provide usage signals that developers would struggle to collect on their own.
If you want easier access to App Store analytics reports, ConnectWizard pulls them for you on a daily basis and turns them into visual stats. You can also explore the raw data and create custom presets for the metrics that matter to your app.