iOS Analytics Gains Muscle With Touch-Based Heatma.ps Tool

If you are an iOS app developer and always wanted to know how users engaged with an app, take heart as a new touch-based iOS analytics tool Heatma.ps made its beta debut Tuesday.

As an app developer though you may be privy to knowledge of how an app is used through analysis services through a measure of consumer actions, details regarding the time frame and parts of the screen engaged in the act may have been inaccessible.

However, launch of Heatma.ps appears to reverse such trends as it reveals hidden issues with app's user experience that developers may not have known thus far. These include parts engaged first; gestures users made; functions that were not employed; in depth scrolling; device orientation; user-interface layout problems among many others.

This data is valuable especially in the app design stage, which directly influences downloads, user ratings and thereby app revenue.

For the uninitiated, Heatma.ps built on lightweight iOS framework consumes less than 80KB space and can be installed in an app or any iOS device. As users commence interaction with the device during app usage, the data is captured and sent to a data center, where it is aggregated and converted into heat maps, gesture and device statistics that can be viewed inside the app, a company release stated.

Holding security paramount, the tool anonymizes and aggregates data to facilitate user protection, the release claimed.

Explaining the algorithm behind the secure data collection method, CEO Cyprian Ciećkiewicz told International Business Times: "This works when an app user is touching a screen of the device that displays for example a signup screen, we collect x, y, coordinates of that single touch."

During the entire period of interaction with the app all kinesthetic data is collected and processed in the Heatma.ps servers, where it is correlated with similar data gleaned from user interactions with a particular signup screen.

"Then our algorithms compute and create a heat map reflecting, which parts of the signup screen were impacted more than others, identified by the color intensity, from blue to red where red indicates the most interacted area. We then allow our clients to download heat maps and display them on top of the signup screen to create an easy to understand picture of user interactions without obstructing on users privacy," Ciećkiewicz added.

The company has attracted a $400,000 seed investment and hopes to employ it for product development and marketing to win new customers.

In brief, the subscription model for the beta version of the tool reads:

• Up to 10,000 data points – free

• Up to 100,000 data points – $95

• Up to 1,000,000 data points – $240

• Up to 10,000,000 data points – $860

• Besides all commercial plans are said to include additional tools such as blur testing and AB testing mechanisms allowing companies to test multiple app designs at a single deployment time

With several clients located in the United States, where the iOS app market is the strongest, Heatma.ps is gradually expanding its footprint in Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

The unique aspect about the tool is that it is available for integration while an app is still in beta testing that helps in understanding problems before app release and also if it is anchored in the live App store.

Speaking about their plans for Android market, Ciećkiewicz told International Business Times that the company is "Currently working on developing analytics for Android as well. What’s great is that most app developers have apps for both iOS and Android, so they can take the knowledge and data they receive from the iOS analytics and translate a lot of that to their Android version."

Developers can download the Heatma.ps SDK that takes just a few minutes to install from https://heatma.ps/