10 Powerful Reasons to Use Firebase as Your Mobile App Backend in 2025

📘 Chapter 6: Analytics, Remote Config, and Performance Monitoring

🔍 Overview

Beyond user authentication and data storage, Firebase offers tools for analyzing behavior, dynamically updating app content, and monitoring performance. These tools—Google Analytics for Firebase, Remote Config, and Performance Monitoring—are essential for improving user engagement, app stability, and data-driven product development.

In this chapter, we’ll explore how to:

• Track key events and behaviors
• Customize app features remotely without app updates
• Monitor app speed, responsiveness, and network performance

📊 Part 1: Firebase Analytics

🔹 What Is Firebase Analytics?

Google Analytics for Firebase provides free, unlimited event logging to help developers understand how users interact with their apps.

🔹 Key Features:

• Real-time user tracking
• Automatic and custom event logging
• Funnels, cohorts, retention analysis
• Audience segmentation and personalization
• Integration with Google Ads, BigQuery, and Firebase tools

🔧 Setup Firebase Analytics

Step 1: Add SDK

groovy

// Android build.gradle

implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics:21.5.0'

Step 2: Initialize Analytics in Your App

java

FirebaseAnalytics mFirebaseAnalytics = FirebaseAnalytics.getInstance(this);

✅ Logging Events

Log Custom Event:

java

Bundle bundle = new Bundle();

bundle.putString(FirebaseAnalytics.Param.ITEM_NAME, "shoe");

bundle.putString(FirebaseAnalytics.Param.CONTENT_TYPE, "product");

mFirebaseAnalytics.logEvent(FirebaseAnalytics.Event.SELECT_CONTENT, bundle);

Log Screen View:

java

mFirebaseAnalytics.setCurrentScreen(this, "HomeScreen", null);

🔍 Default Events Logged Automatically

📈 Use Cases

• Tracking purchases and onboarding completion
• Segmenting users by country, age, or device
• Creating funnels (e.g., Product Viewed → Added to Cart → Purchased)
• Analyzing feature usage (e.g., "dark mode enabled")

🧩 Integration with BigQuery

Export your raw Firebase Analytics data to BigQuery for advanced SQL-based analysis.

bash

# Firebase Console > Analytics > BigQuery > Link Project

🧠 Part 2: Remote Config

🔹 What is Remote Config?

Firebase Remote Config allows you to dynamically modify your app’s behavior and appearance without publishing an app update.

🔹 Benefits:

• A/B testing new features
• Enabling/disabling features
• Dynamic UI changes
• Personalized content delivery

🔧 Setup Remote Config

Add SDK

groovy

implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-config:21.6.1'

Fetch and Activate Config

java

FirebaseRemoteConfig mRemoteConfig = FirebaseRemoteConfig.getInstance();

mRemoteConfig.fetchAndActivate()

    .addOnCompleteListener(this, task -> {

        if (task.isSuccessful()) {

            String welcomeMessage = mRemoteConfig.getString("welcome_text");

            Log.d("RemoteConfig", welcomeMessage);

        }

    });

🛠 Define Parameters in Firebase Console

✅ Set Default Values in App

java

FirebaseRemoteConfigSettings configSettings = new FirebaseRemoteConfigSettings.Builder()

    .setMinimumFetchIntervalInSeconds(3600)

    .build();

mRemoteConfig.setConfigSettingsAsync(configSettings);

Map<String, Object> defaults = new HashMap<>();

defaults.put("welcome_text", "Welcome to MyApp");

mRemoteConfig.setDefaultsAsync(defaults);

🎯 A/B Testing with Remote Config

Use Firebase A/B Testing to create experiments:

• Compare two welcome messages
• Gradually roll out a feature
• Test UI colors or layouts

Navigate to: Firebase Console > Remote Config > A/B Testing

🚀 Part 3: Firebase Performance Monitoring

🔹 What is Performance Monitoring?

Firebase Performance Monitoring helps you understand where and why your app is slow. It collects metrics like startup time, network latency, and slow rendering issues.

🔹 Key Features:

• Track app start time and screen transitions
• Monitor HTTP request latency
• Pinpoint performance by device, country, or OS version
• Real-time alerts for degraded performance

🔧 Setup Performance Monitoring

Add SDK

groovy

implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-perf:20.5.1'

No Manual Initialization Needed

Firebase starts tracking automatically upon launch.

📈 Custom Performance Traces

java

Trace myTrace = FirebasePerformance.getInstance().newTrace("custom_trace");

myTrace.start();

// Code block to measure

doHeavyTask();

myTrace.stop();

🔍 Monitor Network Requests

All HTTP/S requests are tracked automatically (if made via HttpURLConnection, OkHttp, or Retrofit).

To add custom metrics:

java

HttpMetric metric = FirebasePerformance.getInstance().newHttpMetric("https://example.com", HttpMethod.GET);

metric.start();

// execute HTTP call

metric.stop();

📊 Sample Metrics Tracked

📋 Consolidated Feature Comparison

🧠 Best Practices

• ✅ Use event naming conventions in Analytics (e.g., user_signup, purchase_complete)
• ✅ Avoid remote config abuse—limit updates to important UI/UX features
• ✅ Use custom metrics in performance monitoring for key functions
• ✅ Segment analytics data by user type for better targeting
• ✅ Combine A/B testing and Analytics to drive data-based decisions
• ✅ Periodically export analytics to BigQuery for deep analysis

📌 Conclusion

Firebase Analytics, Remote Config, and Performance Monitoring are essential tools for building user-centric, data-driven, and high-performing mobile apps. With these services, you can:

• Understand user actions in real-time
• Test and optimize UI and feature usage
• Monitor technical issues before they impact users

These tools empower product managers, marketers, and developers alike—fueling continuous improvement across your app’s lifecycle.