VWO Pulse iOS SDK - Survey Feature

The VWO Pulse iOS SDK enables you to deliver in-app surveys directly inside your iOS application. By integrating the SDK, you can collect targeted user feedback at critical moments in the user journey.

Key Features

Event-based Triggers - Trigger surveys based on specific events in your app
User Identification - Identify and track users to ensure proper survey targeting
Personalization - Personalize surveys with user attributes
Localization - Localize surveys by setting different languages

Requirements

Requirement	Details
iOS Version	iOS 12.0 and above
Swift Version	5.0+
VWO Dashboard	Access required to retrieve Account ID and SDK Key

Getting Started

Before You Begin

Obtain Your API Key
Log in to the VWO dashboard and navigate to:
Configuration → Websites and apps → Default mobile app → SDK
Retrieve your API key from this section.
Confirm Minimum iOS Version
The SDK officially supports iOS 12.0 and above.

Quick Start

Step 1: SDK Installation

Add the SDK dependency to your Podfile:

# Podfile
pod 'VWO-Insights', '~> 2.1.0'
pod 'SwiftyJSON', '~> 5.0.2'

Then run:

pod install

Step 2: Initialize the SDK

Initialize the SDK in your AppDelegate's application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) method.

import VWO_Insights

class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    
    func application(_ application: UIApplication, 
                    didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
        
        VWO.configure(
            accountId: "your_account_id",  // Account ID from VWO dashboard
            sdkKey: "your_sdk_key",        // SDK Key from VWO dashboard
            userId: "user_id"              // Unique user identifier
        ) { result in
            switch result {
            case .success(_):
                print("VWO SDK initialized successfully")
                // Safe to trigger surveys now
                VWO.startSessionRecording()
                
            case .failure(let error):
                print("VWO SDK initialization failed: \(error)")
            }
        }
        
        return true
    }
}

Step 3: Trigger a Survey

Add a trigger event to display surveys at specific points in your app:

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.trackEvent(
    eventName: "event_name",
    properties: nil,           // Optional event properties
    viewController: self       // Optional, for presentation context
)

Triggers and Event Properties

What are Triggers?

Triggers are events in your app (e.g., button presses, screen loads, checkout completion) that prompt a survey if configured in the VWO dashboard.

Triggering Surveys

You can trigger surveys using the trackEvent method:

Basic Trigger

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.trackEvent(eventName: "event_name")

Trigger with Properties

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.trackEvent(
    eventName: "purchase_completed",
    properties: [
        "product_id": "SKU123",
        "amount": 99.99
    ],
    viewController: self
)

Personalizing and Localizing Surveys

Setting User Properties

You can set profile attributes using setAttribute(). This method supports different value types:

Type	Example
String	`"active"`
Number	`3`
Boolean	`true`
Date	Timestamp in milliseconds

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()

let attributes: [String: Any] = [
    "account_status": "active",
    "user_level": 3,
    "user_email": "user@example.com",
    "user_name": "John Doe"
]

surveySDK.setAttribute(attributes: attributes)

Setting Email and Name

You can also use dedicated methods for email and name:

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.updateUserEmail("user@example.com")
surveySDK.updateUserName("John Doe")

Setting Date Attributes

For date values, use timestamp in milliseconds:

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()

let attributes: [String: Any] = [
    // Use current time in milliseconds
    "signup_date": Date().timeIntervalSince1970 * 1000,
    // Or use a specific date in milliseconds
    "subscription_expiry": 1735689600000  // Example: Jan 1, 2025
]

surveySDK.setAttribute(attributes: attributes)

📘
Note: Always use milliseconds for date values, not epoch seconds. You can convert a Date object using date.timeIntervalSince1970 * 1000.

Setting Survey Language

To display surveys in the user's preferred language, set the survey language using an ISO 639-1 code.

let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.setLanguageCode("en")

Common Language Codes:

Code	Language
`en`	English
`es`	Spanish
`fr`	French
`de`	German
`ja`	Japanese

Why Set Survey Language?

Improve user experience by displaying surveys in the user's native language
Support better localization for global apps

Handling User Sessions

User Logout

When a user logs out and a new user logs in, clear the survey data and re-initialize:

// When user logs out
let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
surveySDK.logout()  // Clears survey-related data

// Re-initialize with new user
VWO.configure(
    accountId: "your_account_id",
    sdkKey: "your_sdk_key",
    userId: "new_user_id"
) { result in
    switch result {
    case .success(_):
        VWO.startSessionRecording()
    case .failure(let error):
        print("Re-initialization failed: \(error)")
    }
}

API Reference

VWO

Method	Description
`configure(accountId:sdkKey:userId:completion:)`	Initializes the VWO SDK
`getSurveyManager()`	Returns the Survey SDK manager instance
`startSessionRecording()`	Starts session recording

SurveyManager

Method	Description
`trackEvent(eventName:)`	Triggers a survey by event name
`trackEvent(eventName:properties:viewController:)`	Triggers a survey with properties and context
`setAttribute(attributes:)`	Sets custom user attributes
`updateUserEmail(_:)`	Sets the user's email
`updateUserName(_:)`	Sets the user's name
`setLanguageCode(_:)`	Sets the preferred survey language
`logout()`	Clears survey-related user data

Configuration Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`accountId`	String	Yes	Your VWO account ID
`sdkKey`	String	Yes	Your SDK key from VWO dashboard
`userId`	String	Yes	Unique identifier for the user

FAQ and Troubleshooting

Survey not showing up?

Ensure VWO SDK is initialized successfully (check for success in the completion callback)
Verify that the event name matches exactly what's configured in the VWO dashboard
Check that surveys are active and properly configured in the dashboard

Survey not showing on home screen or first view?

This might be a race condition. The SDK may not be fully initialized before you trigger the survey.

Solution: Use the initialization callback to trigger surveys after successful initialization.

VWO.configure(
    accountId: "your_account_id",
    sdkKey: "your_sdk_key",
    userId: "user_id"
) { result in
    switch result {
    case .success(_):
        // Safe to trigger survey here
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
            let surveySDK = VWO.getSurveyManager()
            surveySDK.trackEvent(eventName: "app_launched")
        }
    case .failure(let error):
        print("Initialization failed: \(error)")
    }
}

How to create events?

Create in dashboard first:
Navigate to Data360 → Events → Create and create an event with an event_name
Configure in Surveys:
Go to Surveys → Custom Triggers and configure the event
Use in your app:
Use the same event_name in your app code to launch the Survey

Network connectivity issues?

The SDK requires network connectivity for initialization
If the completion callback returns failure, check the device's network connection
Surveys are fetched from the server when triggered

Best Practices

Practice	Description
Initialize early	Call `VWO.configure()` in your AppDelegate's `application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)` method
Wait for initialization	Always wait for the success callback before triggering surveys
Set user attributes early	Configure user attributes before triggering surveys for better targeting
Use main thread for UI	Wrap survey triggers in `DispatchQueue.main.async` when called from background threads

Version Information

Component	Version
SDK Version	`2.1.0`
Minimum iOS Version	12.0
Swift Version	5.0+