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Replace Google Analytics for Firebase Smaller app binary

Replace Google Analytics for Firebase to shrink your app binary

Migrate from Google Analytics for Firebase to a lighter analytics SDK. Helps developers avoid collecting personal data and ship smaller binaries.

Example Google Analytics for Firebase call (the "before")

kotlin Respectlytics
import com.google.firebase.analytics.ktx.analytics
import com.google.firebase.ktx.Firebase

// GA4 event with user_id and freeform parameters:
Firebase.analytics.logEvent("level_up") {
    param("level", 7L)
    param("character", "Aragorn")
    param("user_id", userId)
}

App-binary size affects download conversion (especially on lower-end devices and cellular networks) and storage pressure for users with full phones. Heavy analytics SDKs (Firebase Analytics, AppsFlyer, Branch) routinely add several MB to the binary; Respectlytics's per-platform SDK is under 100 KB.

Remove Google Analytics for Firebase cleanly

  1. 1

    Remove the Firebase Analytics dependency from your build (CocoaPods / SPM / Gradle / npm / pub)

  2. 2

    Remove the GA4 property's data stream linkage from your Firebase console — the data stops flowing as soon as the SDK is removed, but the property remains until manually deleted

  3. 3

    Replace Analytics.logEvent call sites with Respectlytics.track("event_name")

  4. 4

    Re-audit your Info.plist and AndroidManifest.xml for IDFA / AD_ID surfaces that GA for Firebase contributed

  5. 5

    Confirm play-services-ads-identifier is no longer in the Android runtime classpath

Google Analytics for Firebase vs Respectlytics — smaller app binary

Google Analytics for FirebaseRespectlytics
Typical contribution to IPA size— see tool note above< 100 KB
Typical contribution to APK / AAB size— see tool note above< 100 KB
Transitive dependencies— see tool note aboveNone (zero third-party)

Frequently asked questions

How much do these SDKs typically add to my binary?

Varies by SDK. Rough order of magnitude on Android (release AAB): Firebase Analytics ~3-4 MB (with transitive Google Play Services), AppsFlyer ~1-2 MB, Branch ~1.5 MB, Mixpanel ~1 MB. Our [SDK Bundle-Size Comparator](/tools/sdk-bundle-size-comparator/) has up-to-date numbers per SDK.

Does binary size actually affect downloads?

Yes — particularly past Apple's 200 MB cellular-download cap and on lower-end Android devices with limited storage. Google's Play Console has internal metrics showing measurable install-rate differences when AAB size crosses common thresholds (50 MB, 100 MB).

How does the size reduction work in practice?

Removing a single ~3 MB SDK from your release build shrinks the binary by roughly that amount. Multiplied by user installs, the cellular-data savings compound. iOS App Thinning handles per-device variants; Android AAB delivers size-optimised installs by ABI / density / language.

Does the smaller SDK come at a feature cost?

Respectlytics intentionally doesn't bundle features it considers separate concerns: no ads, no attribution, no in-app messaging, no A/B testing, no crash reporting. Each of those is a dedicated tool's job. The smaller surface is the deliberate design — you add only what you actually use.

Related migration guides

Track what matters. Collect nothing you don't.

Five-field event schema, RAM-only event queue, no IDFA, no AAID, no persistent user IDs. Helps developers avoid collecting personal data in the first place.