Units count the number of times an app was downloaded from the app store. 

If a user presses the “Get”  (or “Buy”) button in the app store, that counts as an app unit.

The app unit usually means the user DOWNLOADED the app.

A download, however, doesn’t mean the user actually USED the app.

An install is counted when the app is opened for the first time (there is a caveat here as well – the user needs to OPT-IN to have this info sent back to the iTunes store).

This also explains why there are TWO metrics for tracking app usage. The INSTALL is not a reliable metric – since users can opt-out of notifying the app store – hence, you could have a 100 users – none of which notify iTunes that they are using the app.

App Unit is used to mitigate this situation somewhat – you can make a guesstimate as to your actual number of users.

Notice that there are TWO different ways to view AppUnits – – from the Analytics screen and also from the Sales and Trends screen.

Over time, they seem to average out to the same number, however, I have found the ‘Sales and Trends’ to be more accurate.

Anuj holds professional certifications in Google Cloud, AWS as well as certifications in Docker and App Performance Tools such as New Relic. He specializes in Cloud Security, Data Encryption and Container Technologies.

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