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Advanced guide

Last updated 10/03/2026

1. Set user IDs​

By default, the SDK instance uses a random UUID as each user's default distinct ID, which serves as the user's identifier when they are not logged in. Note that the distinct ID changes when the user reinstalls the app or switches devices.

1.1 Set the distinct ID​

tip

In most cases, you don't need to customize the distinct ID. Make sure that you understand the user identification rules before you set a distinct ID.

If you need to replace the distinct ID, call the method immediately after the SDK is initialized. Do not call it multiple times, to avoid creating useless accounts.

If your app has its own distinct ID management system for each user, you can call setDistinctId to set the distinct ID:

// Set the distinct ID to Thinker
TDAnalytics.setDistinctId("Thinker");

To get the current distinct ID, call getDistinctId:

//Return the distinct ID
async () => {
  var distinct_id = await TDAnalytics.getDistinctId()
}

1.2 Set the account ID​

When a user logs in, you can call login to set the user's account ID. The AE platform uses the account ID as the identifier, and the account ID you set is kept until logout is called. Calling login multiple times overwrites the previous account ID.

// The unique login identifier of the user, which corresponds to #account_id in the reported data. In this case, the value of #account_id is TA
TDAnalytics.login("TA");

This method does not upload a login event

1.3 Clear the account ID​

After a user logs out, you can call logout to clear the account ID. Until login is called again, the distinct ID is used as the identifier.

TDAnalytics.logout();

We recommend calling logout only on explicit logout events, for example when the user deletes their account, rather than when the app is closed.

This method does not upload a logout event

2. Track events​

2.1 Regular events​

After the SDK is initialized, you can start tracking data to collect user behavior. In most cases, regular events meet business needs. You can also use first events, updatable events, and other event types based on your actual business scenarios.

//Store purchase event
TDAnalytics.track({
    eventName:"product_buy",
    properties:{
      'product_name':'Product name'
    }
})

2.2 First events​

A first event is an event that is recorded only once for a given device or an ID of another dimension. For example, in some scenarios you may want to record the activation event on a device; you can report this data as a first event.

// Example: report a device first event, assuming the event name is device_activation
TDAnalytics.trackFirst({
    eventName:'device_activation',
    properties: {
        KEY_NUMBER: 1.02,
        KEY_STRING: "name",
        KEY_LIST: [1, 2, 3],
        KEY_BOOL: true,
        KEY_DateTime: "2020-05-12 06:27:18.371"
    }
})

If you want to determine whether an event is the first one based on a dimension other than the device, you can customize first_check_id for the first event:

// Set the user ID as the first_check_id of the first event to collect the user's first activation event
TDAnalytics.trackFirst({
    eventName:'device_activation',
    properties: {
        KEY_NUMBER: 1.02,
        KEY_STRING: "name",
        KEY_LIST: [1, 2, 3],
        KEY_BOOL: true,
        KEY_DateTime: "2020-05-12 06:27:18.371"
    },
    eventId:'TA'
})

Note: Because the first-event check is performed on the server, first events are stored with a 1-hour delay by default.

2.3 Updatable events​

You can use updatable events to modify event data in specific scenarios. An updatable event requires an ID that identifies the event, which you pass in when you create the updatable event object. The AE backend determines which data to update based on the event name and event ID.

// Example: report an updatable event, assuming the event name is UPDATABLE_EVENT
// After reporting, the event properties are status 3 and price 100
TDAnalytics.trackUpdate({
    eventName:'UPDATABLE_EVENT',
    properties: { status: 3, price: 100},
    eventId:'test_event_id'
})
// After reporting, the event property status is updated to 5, and price stays unchanged
TDAnalytics.trackUpdate({
    eventName:'UPDATABLE_EVENT',
    properties: { status: 5},
    eventId:'test_event_id'
})

2.4 Overwritable events​

Overwritable events are similar to updatable events, except that an overwritable event completely overwrites historical data with the latest data. In effect, the previous record is deleted and the latest data is ingested. The AE backend determines which data to update based on the event name and event ID.

// Example: report an overwritable event, assuming the event name is OVERWRITE_EVENT
// After reporting, the event properties are status 3 and price 100
TDAnalytics.trackOverwrite({
    eventName:'OVERWRITE_EVENT',
    properties: { status: 3, price: 100},
    eventId:'test_event_id'
})
// After reporting, the event property status is updated to 5, and the price property is deleted
TDAnalytics.trackOverwrite({
    eventName:'OVERWRITE_EVENT',
    properties: { status: 5},
    eventId:'test_event_id'
})

2.5 Super properties​

Super properties are properties that are uploaded with every event. Based on how often they are updated, super properties are divided into static super properties and dynamic super properties. You can choose different ways to set super properties based on your business scenarios; we recommend setting super properties before sending events. For the same event, when a super property, a custom event property, and a preset property have the same key, values are assigned in the following order of priority: custom properties > dynamic super properties > static super properties > preset properties.

2.5.1 Set static super properties​

Static super properties are properties that change infrequently and are carried by every event, such as a user's membership level. After you set static super properties through setSuperProperties, the SDK adds them to each event as event properties when the event is collected.

TDAnalytics.setSuperProperties({ vip_level: 2})

Static super properties are saved in the cache, so you don't need to set them every time the App starts. If a property already exists, the newly set value overwrites the original value. If the property doesn't exist, a new property is created. In addition to setting properties, we also provide other APIs for working with static super properties to meet everyday business needs.

//Clear a super property
TDAnalytics.unsetSuperProperty("superKey")
//Clear all super properties
TDAnalytics.clearSuperProperties()
//Get all super properties
async () => {
  var properties = await TDAnalytics.getSuperProperties()
}

2.5.2 Set dynamic super properties​

Dynamic super properties are properties that change frequently and are carried by every event, such as the number of coins a user has. After you set the dynamic super property class through setDynamicSuperPropertiesTracker, the SDK automatically gets the properties in getDynamicSuperProperties when an event is collected and adds them to the triggered event.

var coin = 0;
TDAnalytics.setDynamicSuperProperties(function () {
    return { coin: coin++ }
 })

2.6 Track event duration​

To record how long an event lasts, call timeEvent to start timing. Specify the name of the event you want to time; when you upload that event, the #duration property is automatically added to its event properties to indicate the recorded duration in seconds. Note that only one timing task can run for the same event name at a time.

//The following example records how long a user stays on a product page
 //The user enters the product page and timing starts
TDAnalytics.timeEvent("stay_shop")
/**do someting
    .......
    **/
//The user leaves the product page and timing ends. The "stay_shop" event carries the #duration property, which indicates the event duration
TDAnalytics.track({eventName:"stay_shop"})

3. User properties​

The user property APIs currently supported by the AE platform are userSet, userSetOnce, userAdd, userUnset, userDelete, userAppend, and userUniqAppend

4.1 userSet​

For general user properties, you can call userSet to set them. Properties uploaded through this API overwrite the existing property values. If the user property does not exist yet, it is created with the same type as the value passed in. The following example sets the user name:

// username is TA
TDAnalytics.userSet({ username: "TA" });
//username is AE
TDAnalytics.userSet({ username: "AE" });

4.2 userSetOnce​

If a user property only needs to be set once, you can call userSetOnce to set it. If the property already has a value, this call is ignored. The following example sets the first payment time:

//first_payment_time is 2018-01-01 01:23:45.678
TDAnalytics.userSetOnce({first_payment_time: "2018-01-01 01:23:45.678" });
//first_payment_time is still 2018-01-01 01:23:45.678
TDAnalytics.userSetOnce({first_payment_time: "2018-12-31 01:23:45.678" });

4.3 userAdd​

When you upload a numeric property, you can call userAdd to accumulate its value. If the property has not been set yet, it is assigned 0 before the calculation. You can pass a negative value, which is equivalent to subtraction. The following example accumulates the total payment amount:

//total_revenue is now 30
TDAnalytics.userAdd({ total_revenue: 30 });
//total_revenue is now 678
TDAnalytics.userAdd({ total_revenue: 648 });

The property key is a string, and the Value can only be a number.

4.4 userUnset​

When you need to clear a user's property value, you can call userUnset to clear the specified property. If the property has not been created in the cluster yet, userUnset does not create it

TDAnalytics.userUnset("usersetkey")

The parameter passed to userUnset is the name of a user property, either a string or an array of strings. Variable-length arguments are supported.

4.5 userDelete​

To delete a user, you can call userDelete. After that, you can no longer query this user's user properties, but the events generated by the user can still be queried.

TDAnalytics.userDelete()

4.6 userAppend​

You can call userAppend to append values to Array-type user properties.

TDAnalytics.userAppend({ user_list: ["apple", "ball"] });

4.7 userUniqAppend​

You can call userUniqAppend to append unique elements to user data of the Array (List) type. userUniqAppend deduplicates the appended user property values, while userAppend does not, so the user property may contain duplicates.

//The value of user_list is now ["apple","ball"]
TDAnalytics.userAppend({ user_list: ["apple", "ball"] });
//The value of user_list is now ["apple","apple","ball","cube"]
TDAnalytics.userAppend({ user_list: ["apple", "cube"] });
//The value of user_list is now ["apple","ball","cube"]
TDAnalytics.userUniqAppend({ user_list: ["apple", "cube"] });

4. Encryption​

The SDK supports encryption. The client encrypts data with AES + RSA, and the server then decrypts it. Encryption and decryption require cooperation between the client and the server. For details, contact your customer success representative.

Set the enableEncrypt property to true, and set the default version number and public key.

import TDAnalytics, { TDAutoTrackEventType,TDThirdPartyType,TDTrackStatus} from "react-native-thinking-data";
TDAnalytics.init({
    appId: "xxx",
    serverUrl: "https://xxx",
    enableEncrypt: true,// Enable encryption for data transfer
    secretKey: {
        publicKey: "xxx",// Public key for encryption
        version: 1,// Key version number
        symmetricEncryption: "AES",
        asymmetricEncryption: "RSA"
    }
});

5. Integrate with H5 pages​

To connect with the JavaScript SDK that collects data from H5 pages, call the following API. For details, see the Connect H5 with the app SDK section

<WebView
  ref={webViewRef}
  source={localHtmlFile}
  onMessage={ event => {
    console.log(event.nativeEvent.data);
    TDAnalytics.h5ClickHandler(event.nativeEvent.data);
  }}
  javaScriptEnabled={true}
  injectedJavaScript='window.ThinkingData_APP_ReactNative_Bridge = function(data) { window.ReactNativeWebView.postMessage(data); };'
/>

6. Other features​

6.1 Get the device ID​

You can call getDeviceId to get the device ID:

async () => {
  var device_id = await TDAnalytics.getDeviceId()
}

6.2 Calibrate time​

By default, the SDK uses the local device time as the event time. If users manually change the device time, your business analysis may be affected. In this case, you can calibrate the time to keep the event time accurate. We provide two time calibration methods: timestamp, NTP.

  • You can calibrate the SDK time with the current timestamp obtained from the server. After that, all calls that don't specify a time, including event data and user property operations, use the calibrated time as the time of occurrence.
// 1585633785954 is the current Unix timestamp in milliseconds, corresponding to Beijing time 2020-03-31 13:49:45
TDAnalytics.calibrateTime(1585633785954);
  • You can also set an NTP server address. The SDK then tries to get the current time from that NTP server and calibrates the SDK time. If no correct response is received within the default timeout (3 seconds), data is reported with the local time afterward.
// Calibrate time with the Apple NTP service
TDAnalytics.calibrateTimeWithNtp("time.apple.com");

1. Time calibration with an NTP service involves some uncertainty. We recommend calibrating with a timestamp whenever possible.

2. Choose your NTP server address carefully so that user devices can quickly get the server time when the network is in good condition.

6.3 Report data immediately​

In some business scenarios, if you want data to be reported to the AE server immediately, you can call the flush API

TDAnalytics.flush();
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