So what exactly is Rovio tracking when we download their apps

Home Forums General Discussions Forum So what exactly is Rovio tracking when we download their apps

  • I haven’t played ABSW II in awhile, nor have I claimed any Carbonite melts on my iPad since 9/13. I haven’t played or claimed melts on my Android phone in well over a month.

    Today, mysteriously, the 1 appeared next to the game icon on my iPad & when I opened the game, there sat a prize box. Unfortunately, it contained only 2 Wicket

    Has anyone else received or been receiving an unexpected or mysterious prize box in ABSW II after a week or more lapse in collecting Carbonite melts or in gameplay?

    So ….. just in case anyone thinks Rovio isn’t tracking, monitoring, or watching our gameplay ….

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • MVNLA2
    @mvnla2

    Haven’t seen it, but then I’ve been religiously collecting carbonite melts.

    Les Toreadors
    @les-toreadors

    You know occasionally Rovio releases those analytics data that claims to show global statistics of number of birds flung, number of pigs popped, hours of gameplay, etc? I think those are from some sort of stat tracking implementation in various apps.

    This type of stat tracking I believe is quite common nowadays although other developers give an option for users to opt-out of said tracking or “product improvement” schemes.

    More recently, the #UnlockTheFlock event (currently still ongoing) tracks no. of birds flung in Angry Birds Friends in order to ‘unlock’ content from something related to Angry Birds: The Movie.

    I don’t believe there’s anything to be alarmed from user tracking as personal information is not collected or exploited in any way – rather, the developer captures usage statistics.

    “Usage tracking” has also existed in other forms for many decades. Where do you think TV companies generate program ratings from?

    Kelani
    @kelani

    TV networks are a little different. They use Nielsen Media Research, which just polls a small sample size (50-100k people) who have been provided with hardware, and are fully aware their viewing habits are monitored. That model is changing, though, as online viewing grows, and new set-top boxes that can report viewing data are rolled out.

    To get a good idea of what things are tracked in AB games, just look at the achievements. 30 hours played, 10,000 blocks broken, 5 birds fired backwards, etc.. Lots of things are recorded, but most (if not all) of it is mundane, and of no interest to anyone except Rovio, for the reasons l-t mentioned.

    burbman
    @burbman

    Not sure, but my phone asked me the other day if I wanted one of the AB apps, I forget which, to use my locator services. I said no.

    Stellar
    @raadim

    It’s very simple. There are tools like Parse.com, GameAnalytics, Flurry and many more. They can track pretty much everything you do in the game. What button you click, for how long you’ve played, if you are a returning user and how many sessions you have played. They know type of your device no matter if it’s iPhone or Android. The can literally track every tap of your finger (it would not make much sense to do it but it is possible)

    So if you wanna know more I would suggest you just go and check out what Parse and others offer to game developers.

    The good is that Rovio has so many players that their statistics are really global. The bad is that they all use it to monetize their free games. But on the other hand you can’t expect developers to work for free. So they have to make money in order to make more games.

    I know all that because I’m developer myself.

    Les Toreadors
    @les-toreadors

    Thanks for the insight!

    It’s nice to read these and reaffirm what really goes on behind the scenes :)

    Kelani
    @kelani

    Creepy Alert. A few hours after posting that info about Nielsen Media, I got a phone call from them trying to recruit me for what I assume is to be a nielsen family (for TV ratings).

    Given that there’s only 50-75k of these in the US, I’d love a math guru to tell me what the odds of THAT happening. :) On the bright side, if that’s what they’re after, you can bet I’ll do my part to lower the ratings for all the stupid TV shows out there.

    justpast40
    @justpast40

    @kelani, that is a little creepy. Our household has taken a paper Nielsen survey twice in the last several years.

    Les Toreadors
    @les-toreadors

    @kelani

    Haha truly a ‘speak of the devil’ moment.

    I seldom watch TV for the past decade or so. I loved the good lighthearted productions of the 80s and 90s but in the “modern” age it’s just same old stuff I don’t want to look at.

    The only thing I don’t get sick of watching is Top Gear UK, for quite obvious (epig failing) reasons :)

    Kelani
    @kelani

    @les-toreadors I’m the same way. Give me reruns of 80s shows or old movies any day. The only “modern” stuff I watch are documentaries, and any rare specials like the Cosmos remake. Hmm, given your fondness for epig failures, I’m surprised you don’t watch Mythbusters. it’s like Top Gear, but with explosives. :)


    @justpast40
    Ooh, I think I’ve been trapped in one of those newspaper surveys before. If you mean the one where they won’t accept “I don’t read newspapers” as an answer, and make you say yes/no while they read off a list of every newspaper in your state. Then, they do the same thing with TV stations and online versions of both. Normally, I would have hung up, but the rep had an awesome voice. I suspect that’s a requirement for the job. :)

    justpast40
    @justpast40

    @kelani, no, the mail in Nielsen isn’t like the yes/no phone survey I think you mean.

    With the mailed in Nielsen, we got a head’s up mailing that we’d be receiving the surveys to complete in the mail in the next few weeks, along with a few dollar bills & a request to complete the actual surveys from Day 1 thru Day 7. I can’t even remember if it started on a Sun & ended on a Sat. There were 3 surveys, 1 for each TV in let’s say, living room, bedroom 1, guest room (I think this info came from actually answering a phone call years ago, which means it must have come up on Caller ID.) The survey stays in the room & any viewer marks the watched program & time viewed, including as I remember time the tv was on the channel whether or not anyone in room. At the end of the week the the surveys are retuned in their self addressed/stamped mailers & within a month is so cash arrives for each retuned survey, even if, in our case, the 3rd tv was never turned on.

    With Nielsen, we have the option to participate, but that freaky SW 2 Reward box that appeared 2 weeks ago, starting this post, isn’t something I expected. It had been even longer since I’d “melted” on my Android phone, so I don’t believe it is something pre-programmed into the software, so I have to imagine it was initiated on their end … if not, I don’t understand where it came from.

Home Forums General Discussions Forum So what exactly is Rovio tracking when we download their apps

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