React Native Onboarding Analytics: Track Where Users Drop Off

Why per-step analytics matter

A total completion rate tells you the outcome. It doesn't tell you which step is the problem. If 60% of your users never finish onboarding and you only have a start-and-end event, you'll spend weeks A/B testing the wrong thing.

Step-level analytics gives you:

• Which step loses the most users (by volume, not just percentage)
• Whether mobile and desktop users abandon at different points
• Whether a recent release introduced a new drop-off spike

Install the SDK

npm install @onramp-sdk/react-native
# or
yarn add @onramp-sdk/react-native

The SDK works with both bare React Native and Expo. It uses AsyncStorage for anonymous user identity - no cookies, no tracking pixels.

Initialise once at app startup

Call OnRamp.init() in your root component before any screens render:

// App.tsx
import { useEffect } from 'react'
import { OnRamp } from '@onramp-sdk/react-native'

export default function App() {
  useEffect(() => {
    OnRamp.init({
      apiKey: 'onr_your_key_here',
    })
  }, [])

  return <NavigationContainer>...</NavigationContainer>
}

Track each onboarding step

Call OnRamp.step() immediately after the user completes an action - not when a screen loads. Tracking on load inflates your completion numbers because users who bounce immediately still count as having "completed" the step.

import { OnRamp } from '@onramp-sdk/react-native'

// Good: fire after the action completes
async function handleSignup(email: string, password: string) {
  await createAccount(email, password)
  OnRamp.step('account_created')
}

// Wrong: fire on screen mount
useEffect(() => {
  OnRamp.step('account_created') // fires even for users who immediately leave
}, [])

Recommended step names for a typical onboarding flow

Use underscores, not spaces. Capitalisation matters - account_created and Account Created are separate events in the funnel.

Add properties to diagnose segments

Properties let you split funnel data by plan type, signup source, or device - so you can tell whether a drop-off is universal or only affects one segment.

OnRamp.step('account_created', {
  properties: {
    plan: 'trial',
    signup_method: 'google_oauth',
    device_os_version: Platform.OS,
  },
})

Build the funnel in the dashboard

Once saved, the funnel retroactively populates with any matching events that have already arrived.

What to look for

The step with the highest volume of drops is your priority - not the step with the highest drop-off percentage. A 15% rate at step 2 with 800 users is more important than a 40% rate at step 6 with 50 users.

Signals to check for each high-drop step

• Time on step - if average time is unusually high, users are confused, not skipping
• OS split - if Android drops off 2× more than iOS at the same step, it's likely a layout or permission issue
• Device - older phones failing an API call looks like drop-off in the funnel

Common React Native–specific gotchas

Permission prompts cause phantom drop-off. If your onboarding asks for push notifications or camera access early, users who tap "Don't allow" often quit the whole flow. Consider deferring the ask until after the aha moment.

Deep link handling. If your email verification redirects back to the app via a deep link, confirm that the redirect actually fires OnRamp.step('email_verified') - some universal link setups silently drop the user into the wrong screen.

Background/foreground re-init. Don't call OnRamp.init() on every app foreground. The SDK handles session continuity; re-initialising resets the in-flight batch.