Push analytics and custom event logging

This page covers the following workflows: native push analytics (opens, influenced opens, and campaign reporting) and custom data logging (custom events and attributes) from push payloads. Use this guide to identify which workflow applies to your use case and follow the steps for your platform.

Prerequisites

Before you start, complete the initial push notification integration for your platform:

• Android push notifications
• Swift push notifications
• Web push notifications

Native push analytics vs. custom event logging

The following workflows each have different reporting surfaces.

What Braze logs automatically

When your SDK integration is configured, Braze automatically logs core channel interaction data, including push opens and influenced opens. No additional code is required for standard push analytics. For a full list of automatically collected data, see SDK data collection.

For more details, see the following:

• SDK data collection for a full list of automatically collected and optional data.
• Influenced opens for how Braze calculates influenced opens.
• Message engagement events for downstream event schemas in Currents.

Preserving native push analytics with custom push handling

You might use a custom push handler when you need to integrate multiple push providers, process additional payload data, or implement custom notification display logic. If you use a custom push handler, you must still pass push payloads to Braze SDK methods. This allows Braze to extract the embedded tracking data and log native push analytics (opens, influenced opens, and delivery metrics).

• android
• swift
• web

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public class MyFirebaseMessagingService extends FirebaseMessagingService {
  @Override
  public void onMessageReceived(RemoteMessage remoteMessage) {
    super.onMessageReceived(remoteMessage);
    if (BrazeFirebaseMessagingService.handleBrazeRemoteMessage(this, remoteMessage)) {
      // Braze processed a Braze push payload.
    } else {
      // Non-Braze payload: pass to your other handlers.
    }
  }
}

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if let braze = AppDelegate.braze, braze.notifications.handleBackgroundNotification(
  userInfo: userInfo,
  fetchCompletionHandler: completionHandler
) {
  return
}
completionHandler(.noData)

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if let braze = AppDelegate.braze, braze.notifications.handleUserNotification(
  response: response,
  withCompletionHandler: completionHandler
) {
  return
}
completionHandler()

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func userNotificationCenter(
  _ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
  willPresent notification: UNNotification,
  withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationPresentationOptions) -> Void
) {
  if let braze = AppDelegate.braze {
    braze.notifications.handleForegroundNotification(notification: notification)
  }
  if #available(iOS 14.0, *) {
    completionHandler([.banner, .list, .sound])
  } else {
    completionHandler([.alert, .sound])
  }
}

Logging custom data from push payloads

Use this section when you need to log additional data from push payload key-value pairs, such as custom events or attributes tied to your business logic.

For more information about custom events, see Custom events. To log custom events through SDK methods, see Logging custom events.

Option A: Log with the /users/track endpoint

You can log analytics in real time by calling the /users/track endpoint.

To identify the user profile, include braze_id in your push payload key-value pairs.

Option B: Log with SDK methods after app launch

You can also save payload data locally and log custom events and attributes through SDK methods after the app initializes. This approach is common in notification content extension flows where analytics data is persisted first and flushed on the next app launch.

Logging from a notification content extension (Swift)

The following steps cover how to save and send custom events, custom attributes, and user attributes from a Swift notification content extension.

Step 1: Configure app groups in Xcode

In Xcode, add the App Groups capability to your main app target. Turn on App Groups, then click + to add a new group. Use your app’s bundle ID to create the group identifier (for example, group.com.company.appname.xyz). Turn on App Groups for both your main app target and the content extension target.

Step 2: Choose what to log

Before you implement the snippets, choose which analytics category you want to log:

• Custom events: Actions users take (for example, completing a flow or tapping a specific UI element). Use custom events for action-based triggers, segmentation, and event analytics. For more information, see Custom events and Logging custom events.
• Custom attributes: Profile fields you define (for example, plan_tier or preferred_language) and update over time. For more information, see Custom attributes and Setting user attributes.
• User attributes: Standard profile fields (for example, email, first name, and phone number). In the sample code, these are represented by a typed UserAttribute model and then mapped to Braze user fields.

The helper files in this section (RemoteStorage, UserAttribute, and EventName Dictionary) are local utility files used by this sample implementation. They are not built-in SDK classes. They store payload-derived data in UserDefaults, define a typed model for pending user updates, and standardize event payload construction. For more information about local data storage behavior, see Storage.

• custom events
• custom attributes
• user attributes
• helper files

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func saveCustomEvent(with properties: [String: Any]? = nil) {
  // 1
  let customEventDictionary = Dictionary(eventName: "YOUR-EVENT-NAME", properties: properties)
  
  // 2
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  
  // 3
  if var pendingEvents = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingCustomEvents) as? [[String: Any]] {
    pendingEvents.append(contentsOf: [customEventDictionary])
    remoteStorage.store(pendingEvents, forKey: .pendingCustomEvents)
  } else {
    // 4
    remoteStorage.store([customEventDictionary], forKey: .pendingCustomEvents)
  }
}

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- (void)saveCustomEvent:(NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *)properties {
  // 1
  NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *customEventDictionary = [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithEventName:@"YOUR-EVENT-NAME" properties:properties];
  
  // 2
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSMutableArray *pendingEvents = [[remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents] mutableCopy];
  
  // 3
  if (pendingEvents) {
    [pendingEvents addObject:customEventDictionary];
    [remoteStorage store:pendingEvents forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents];
  } else {
    // 4
    [remoteStorage store:@[ customEventDictionary ] forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents];
  }
}

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func logPendingCustomEventsIfNecessary() {
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  guard let pendingEvents = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingCustomEvents) as? [[String: Any]] else { return }
  
  // 1
  for event in pendingEvents {
    var eventName: String?
    var properties: [AnyHashable: Any] = [:]
    
    // 2
    for (key, value) in event {
      if key == "event_name" {
        // 3
        if let eventNameValue = value as? String {
          eventName = eventNameValue
        } else {
          print("Invalid type for event_name key")
        }
      } else {
        // 4
        properties[key] = value
      }
    }
    // 5
    if let eventName = eventName {
      AppDelegate.braze?.logCustomEvent(name: eventName, properties: properties)
    }
  }
  
  // 6
  remoteStorage.removeObject(forKey: .pendingCustomEvents)
}

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- (void)logPendingEventsIfNecessary {
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSArray *pendingEvents = [remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents];
  
  // 1
  for (NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *event in pendingEvents) {
    NSString *eventName = nil;
    NSMutableDictionary *properties = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
    
    // 2
    for (NSString* key in event) {
      if ([key isEqualToString:@"event_name"]) {
        // 3
        if ([[event objectForKey:key] isKindOfClass:[NSString class]]) {
          eventName = [event objectForKey:key];
        } else {
          NSLog(@"Invalid type for event_name key");
        }
      } else {
        // 4
        properties[key] = event[key];
      }
    }
    // 5
    if (eventName != nil) {
      [AppDelegate.braze logCustomEvent:eventName properties:properties];
    }
  }
  
  // 6
  [remoteStorage removeObjectForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents];
}

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func saveCustomAttribute() {
  // 1
  let customAttributeDictionary: [String: Any] = ["YOUR-CUSTOM-ATTRIBUTE-KEY": "YOUR-CUSTOM-ATTRIBUTE-VALUE"]
  
  // 2
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  
  // 3
  if var pendingAttributes = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingCustomAttributes) as? [[String: Any]] {
    pendingAttributes.append(contentsOf: [customAttributeDictionary])
    remoteStorage.store(pendingAttributes, forKey: .pendingCustomAttributes)
  } else {
    // 4
    remoteStorage.store([customAttributeDictionary], forKey: .pendingCustomAttributes)
  }
}

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- (void)saveCustomAttribute {
  // 1
  NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *customAttributeDictionary = @{ @"YOUR-CUSTOM-ATTRIBUTE-KEY": @"YOUR-CUSTOM-ATTRIBUTE-VALUE" };
  
  // 2
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSMutableArray *pendingAttributes = [[remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes] mutableCopy];
  
  // 3
  if (pendingAttributes) {
    [pendingAttributes addObject:customAttributeDictionary];
    [remoteStorage store:pendingAttributes forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes];
  } else {
    // 4
    [remoteStorage store:@[ customAttributeDictionary ] forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes];
  }
}

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func logPendingCustomAttributesIfNecessary() {
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  guard let pendingAttributes = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingCustomAttributes) as? [[String: Any]] else { return }
     
  // 1
  pendingAttributes.forEach { setCustomAttributesWith(keysAndValues: $0) }
  
  // 4
  remoteStorage.removeObject(forKey: .pendingCustomAttributes)
}
   
func setCustomAttributesWith(keysAndValues: [String: Any]) {
  // 2
  for (key, value) in keysAndValues {
    // 3
    if let value = value as? [String] {
      setCustomAttributeArrayWithKey(key, andValue: value)
    } else {
      setCustomAttributeWithKey(key, andValue: value)
    }
  }
}

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- (void)logPendingCustomAttributesIfNecessary {
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSArray *pendingAttributes = [remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes];
   
  // 1
  for (NSDictionary<NSString*, id> *attribute in pendingAttributes) {
    [self setCustomAttributeWith:attribute];
  }
  
  // 4
  [remoteStorage removeObjectForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes];
}
 
- (void)setCustomAttributeWith:(NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *)keysAndValues {
  // 2
  for (NSString *key in keysAndValues) {
    // 3
    [self setCustomAttributeWith:key andValue:[keysAndValues objectForKey:key]];
  }
}

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func saveUserAttribute() {
  // 1
  guard let data = try? PropertyListEncoder().encode(UserAttribute.email("USER-ATTRIBUTE-VALUE")) else { return }
  
  // 2
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  
  // 3
  if var pendingAttributes = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingUserAttributes) as? [Data] {
    pendingAttributes.append(contentsOf: [data])
    remoteStorage.store(pendingAttributes, forKey: .pendingUserAttributes)
  } else {
    // 4
    remoteStorage.store([data], forKey: .pendingUserAttributes)
  }
}

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- (void)saveUserAttribute {
  // 1
  UserAttribute *userAttribute = [[UserAttribute alloc] initWithUserField:@"USER-ATTRIBUTE-VALUE" attributeType:UserAttributeTypeEmail];
   
  NSError *error;
  NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:userAttribute requiringSecureCoding:YES error:&error];
  
  if (error != nil) {
    // log error
  }
  // 2
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSMutableArray *pendingAttributes = [[remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes] mutableCopy];
  
  // 3
  if (pendingAttributes) {
    [pendingAttributes addObject:data];
    [remoteStorage store:pendingAttributes forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes];
  } else {
    // 4
    [remoteStorage store:@[data] forKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes];
  }
}

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func logPendingUserAttributesIfNecessary() {
  let remoteStorage = RemoteStorage(storageType: .suite)
  guard let pendingAttributes = remoteStorage.retrieve(forKey: .pendingUserAttributes) as? [Data] else { return }
  
  // 1
  for attributeData in pendingAttributes {
    // 2
    guard let userAttribute = try? PropertyListDecoder().decode(UserAttribute.self, from: attributeData) else { continue }
    
    // 3
    switch userAttribute {
    case .email(let email):
      AppDelegate.braze?.user.set(email: email)
    }
  }
  // 4
  remoteStorage.removeObject(forKey: .pendingUserAttributes)
}

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- (void)logPendingUserAttributesIfNecessary {
  RemoteStorage *remoteStorage = [[RemoteStorage alloc] initWithStorageType:StorageTypeSuite];
  NSArray *pendingAttributes = [remoteStorage retrieveForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes];
  
  // 1
  for (NSData *attributeData in pendingAttributes) {
    NSError *error;
    
    // 2
    UserAttribute *userAttribute = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchivedObjectOfClass:[UserAttribute class] fromData:attributeData error:&error];
    
    if (error != nil) {
      // log error
    }
    
    // 3
    if (userAttribute) {
      switch (userAttribute.attributeType) {
        case UserAttributeTypeEmail:
          [self user].email = userAttribute.userField;
          break;
      }
    }
  }
  // 4
  [remoteStorage removeObjectForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes];
}

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enum RemoteStorageKey: String, CaseIterable {
   
  // MARK: - Notification Content Extension Analytics
  case pendingCustomEvents = "pending_custom_events"
  case pendingCustomAttributes = "pending_custom_attributes"
  case pendingUserAttributes = "pending_user_attributes"
}
 
enum RemoteStorageType {
  case standard
  case suite
}
 
class RemoteStorage: NSObject {
  private var storageType: RemoteStorageType = .standard
  private lazy var defaults: UserDefaults = {
    switch storageType {
    case .standard:
      return .standard
    case .suite:
      // Use the App Group identifier you created in Step 1.
      return UserDefaults(suiteName: "group.com.company.appname.xyz")!
    }
  }()
   
  init(storageType: RemoteStorageType = .standard) {
    self.storageType = storageType
  }
   
  func store(_ value: Any, forKey key: RemoteStorageKey) {
    defaults.set(value, forKey: key.rawValue)
  }
   
  func retrieve(forKey key: RemoteStorageKey) -> Any? {
    return defaults.object(forKey: key.rawValue)
  }
   
  func removeObject(forKey key: RemoteStorageKey) {
    defaults.removeObject(forKey: key.rawValue)
  }
   
  func resetStorageKeys() {
    for key in RemoteStorageKey.allCases {
      defaults.removeObject(forKey: key.rawValue)
    }
  }
}

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@interface RemoteStorage ()
 
@property (nonatomic) StorageType storageType;
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSUserDefaults *defaults;
 
@end
 
@implementation RemoteStorage
 
- (id)initWithStorageType:(StorageType)storageType {
  if (self = [super init]) {
    self.storageType = storageType;
  }
  return self;
}
 
- (void)store:(id)value forKey:(RemoteStorageKey)key {
  [[self defaults] setValue:value forKey:[self rawValueForKey:key]];
}
 
- (id)retrieveForKey:(RemoteStorageKey)key {
  return [[self defaults] objectForKey:[self rawValueForKey:key]];
}
 
- (void)removeObjectForKey:(RemoteStorageKey)key {
  [[self defaults] removeObjectForKey:[self rawValueForKey:key]];
}
 
- (void)resetStorageKeys {
  [[self defaults] removeObjectForKey:[self rawValueForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents]];
  [[self defaults] removeObjectForKey:[self rawValueForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes]];
  [[self defaults] removeObjectForKey:[self rawValueForKey:RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes]];
}
 
- (NSUserDefaults *)defaults {
  if (!_defaults) {
    switch (self.storageType) {
      case StorageTypeStandard:
        _defaults = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults];
        break;
      case StorageTypeSuite:
        _defaults = [[NSUserDefaults alloc] initWithSuiteName:@"group.com.company.appname.xyz"];
        break;
    }
  }
  return _defaults;
}
 
- (NSString*)rawValueForKey:(RemoteStorageKey)remoteStorageKey {
    switch(remoteStorageKey) {
    case RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomEvents:
      return @"pending_custom_events";
    case RemoteStorageKeyPendingCustomAttributes:
      return @"pending_custom_attributes";
    case RemoteStorageKeyPendingUserAttributes:
      return @"pending_user_attributes";
    default:
      [NSException raise:NSGenericException format:@"Unexpected FormatType."];
  }
}

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enum UserAttribute: Hashable {
  case email(String?)
}
 
// MARK: - Codable
extension UserAttribute: Codable {
  private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
    case email
  }
   
  func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
    var values = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
     
    switch self {
    case .email(let email):
      try values.encodeIfPresent(email, forKey: .email)
    }
  }
   
  init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
    let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
     
    let email = try values.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .email)
    self = .email(email)
  }
}

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@implementation UserAttribute
 
- (id)initWithUserField:(NSString *)userField attributeType:(UserAttributeType)attributeType {
  if (self = [super init]) {
    self.userField = userField;
    self.attributeType = attributeType;
  }
  return self;
}
 
- (void)encodeWithCoder:(NSCoder *)encoder {
  [encoder encodeObject:self.userField forKey:@"userField"];
  [encoder encodeInteger:self.attributeType forKey:@"attributeType"];
}
 
- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)decoder {
  if (self = [super init]) {
    self.userField = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"userField"];
     
    NSInteger attributeRawValue = [decoder decodeIntegerForKey:@"attributeType"];
    self.attributeType = (UserAttributeType) attributeRawValue;
  }
  return self;
}
 
@end

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extension Dictionary where Key == String, Value == Any {
  init(eventName: String, properties: [String: Any]? = nil) {
    self.init()
    self[PushNotificationKey.eventName.rawValue] = eventName
     
    if let properties = properties {
      for (key, value) in properties {
        self[key] = value
      }
    }
  }
}

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@implementation NSMutableDictionary (Helper)

+ (instancetype)dictionaryWithEventName:(NSString *)eventName
                              properties:(NSDictionary *)properties {
  NSMutableDictionary *dict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
  dict[@"event_name"] = eventName;

  if (properties) {
    for (id key in properties) {
      dict[key] = properties[key];
    }
  }

  return dict;
}
 
@end

Analyzing results

Use the reporting surface that matches the analytics category:

For custom report creation, see Report Builder.

Related references

• Push notifications
• Logging custom events
• Custom events
• Track users endpoint (/users/track)
• Braze Android SDK repository
• Braze Swift SDK repository
• Braze Web SDK repository