The formula, the data sources, the pitfalls — and how to keep retention current across platforms without rebuilding it every week.
Always cohort-based: group users by install date, then measure how many return on day 1, 7, 30.
retention pulls from multiple platforms, each with its own definition and refresh lag. The moment you finish the report it's out of date — so it gets rebuilt next week. The fix is to automate the inputs and the write-back, not just the chart on top.
Illustrative. A cohort of 5,000 installs has 1,150 users active on day 7 → D7 retention = 23%. Measure it against the install cohort, not everyone active today.
Confusing activity (anyone active today) with cohort retention, and expecting true cohorts on iOS where SKAN can't provide them.
Opera pulls the inputs across AppsFlyer and your ad platforms, applies your retention and cohorts definition, reconciles the sources, and appends the result to your existing report — append-only, formulas preserved — then schedules it and posts a summary.
"Refresh the retention report with this week's numbers by channel, and flag anything off target."
Skip automation while the retention and cohorts definition is still being argued about, while the report's structure changes weekly, or for one-off analyses. Automation pays on stable, recurring reports — lock the definition first, then put it on a schedule.
Opera is built to touch production reports and live ad accounts without breaking anything:
See this running on your own reports.A 45-minute workflow audit maps your current process and shows exactly what Opera automates — step by step.
Estimate the hours and fully-loaded labor cost your team spends on recurring reports — and what Opera gives back.