Daily Active Users

Daily Active Users (DAU) measures the number of unique users engaging with an app on a daily basis.

Why it matters

Indicates user engagement and app stickiness.
Helps in assessing the app's growth and retention strategies.

How to measure

Count unique users interacting with the app daily.
Typically measured over daily, weekly, or monthly periods.

Details

For mobile engineers and growth teams, DAU is a critical metric for understanding user engagement. It reflects how many users find the app valuable enough to use it daily. High DAU numbers suggest that the app is effectively retaining users, while low numbers may indicate a need for improved user experience or marketing strategies.

In the mobile context, DAU is often used alongside other metrics like Monthly Active Users (MAU) to calculate the app's stickiness, which is DAU divided by MAU. This ratio provides insights into user retention and engagement levels.

Examples & formulas

To calculate stickiness, use the formula: Stickiness = DAU / MAU. A higher ratio indicates better user retention.

Stickiness = DAU / MAU

Common mistakes

Over-relying on DAU without considering user quality; focus on meaningful engagement.
Ignoring DAU trends over time; consistent monitoring is crucial for actionable insights.