React Native, a tool for creating mobile applications with React and JavaScript, has become highly favored for its versatility and effectiveness. This article will help you incorporate Google Analytics into your React Native app. We will utilize the @react-native-firebase/analytics library, a well-maintained project that seamlessly integrates Firebase services with React Native.
Step 1: Setting Up Firebase
The first step towards implementing Google Analytics in your React Native application is setting up your Firebase project. To accomplish this, you will need to create a new project from your Firebase console, activate the Google Analytics for your project, and download the configuration files. For Android, download the google-services.json and for iOS, download the GoogleService-Info.plist.
Step 2: Installing Dependencies
Install the required dependencies using npm or yarn. We will be installing @react-native-firebase/app for the base Firebase application and @react-native-firebase/analytics for Google Analytics.
npm install --save @react-native-firebase/app npm install --save @react-native-firebase/analytics
For iOS, you need to install pods as well.
cd ios/ && pod install
Step 3: Linking Firebase with Your React Native App
Once you have added the dependencies successfully, you need to link them to your app. Add the downloaded Firebase configuration files to your project. In Android, place the google-services.json file into your android/app directory. If you’re using iOS, add the GoogleService-Info.plist file to your ios/[yourProjectName] directory via Xcode.
Step 4: Using Google Analytics in Your App
With Google Analytics successfully linked to your app, you are now ready to use it. To log an event, you can use the logEvent method from the Firebase analytics instance. For example, to log a ‘user_sign_up’ event, you might use code similar to this:
import analytics from '@react-native-firebase/analytics';
analytics().logEvent('user_sign_up', {method: 'email'});
You can also set user properties that can be used to build audience definitions.
import analytics from '@react-native-firebase/analytics';
analytics().setUserProperties({favorite_food: 'lasagna'});
And that’s it! You have now integrated Google Analytics in your React Native application using Firebase. You can now use this powerful tool to track and analyze user interactions in your app. Happy tracking!
