▸Example Countly call (the "before")
import ly.count.android.sdk.Countly
import ly.count.android.sdk.CountlyConfig
val config = CountlyConfig(application, "YOUR_APP_KEY", "https://your-countly-server.com")
.setLoggingEnabled(true)
.setIdMode(DeviceIdType.OPEN_UDID)
Countly.sharedInstance().init(config)
Countly.sharedInstance().events().recordEvent(
"purchase",
mapOf("user_id" to userId, "value" to price, "currency" to "USD"),
1
)
Heavy analytics SDKs do work at app launch — reading identifiers, initialising queues, network dispatch — that compounds visibly on lower-end devices. Respectlytics's SDK adds typically under 30ms to cold start, vs 100-300ms for Firebase Analytics's full initialisation chain.
☑Remove Countly cleanly
-
1
Remove the Countly SDK from your build (
Countly/ly.count.android:sdk/countly-sdk-react-native-bridge/countly_flutter) -
2
Remove
Countly.sharedInstance().start(with:)initialisation andrecordEvent(...)call sites -
3
Decide whether you'll keep the Countly server running for other apps, or decommission it as part of the migration
-
4
If you used Countly's crash reporting alongside analytics, plan a separate crash-reporter migration (Sentry / Crashlytics / Bugsnag)
⇋Countly vs Respectlytics — faster cold start
| Countly | Respectlytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cold-start contribution (p50) | — see tool note above | < 30ms |
| Initialisation work on launch | Reads IDFA/AAID, opens SQLite, spins up threads | Allocates ring buffer (RAM-only) |
| Number of background threads spawned | — typically 2-4 | 1 |
| Synchronous I/O on init | — typical (SQLite open) | None |
❓Frequently asked questions
How do I measure cold start before / after?
iOS: Xcode Organizer's Launch Time metric (aggregate from real users) or Instruments → App Launch template (synthetic). Android: adb shell am start -W <package>/.<activity> or Play Console's Vitals → Startup time. Measure before removing the old SDK, after, and compare on the same device class.
Does Respectlytics block the main thread on init?
No. Respectlytics.configure(appKey:) is synchronous but does only in-memory work (allocates the ring buffer). The network flush runs on a background dispatch queue / coroutine.
What's typical magnitude of improvement?
On a mid-range Android device, removing Firebase Analytics + AppsFlyer typically saves 100-300ms off cold start, depending on Google Play Services init state. On iOS the delta is usually 50-150ms. Effect is more pronounced on cold-start (uncached) than warm-start launches.
Does cold-start improvement actually affect business metrics?
Yes — first-session abandonment correlates with launch latency in published benchmarks. A 100ms improvement on the slowest deciles of your device distribution can show a measurable first-day retention lift.