How to Enable Google Analytics in Firebase

Connecting Firebase and Google Analytics is the first step toward truly understanding how people use your mobile app. Without this essential link, your app is basically a black box - you can see if people are downloading it, but you have no idea what they're actually doing inside. This article walks you through exactly how to enable the Google Analytics integration, whether you're starting a new Firebase project or working with an existing one.

Why Connect Firebase to Google Analytics?

While Firebase itself provides a basic analytics dashboard, linking it to a full-fledged Google Analytics 4 property elevates your app data from simple metrics to a powerful tool for growth. It’s like switching from a blurry photo to a high-definition video of your user's journey.

Here’s what you gain immediately after enabling the integration:

• Unified Cross-Platform Analytics: If you have both a website and a mobile app, this is huge. By linking your Firebase project (which handles your app data) to the same GA4 property tracking your website, you get a single, unified view of your entire user base. You can track a user’s journey from visiting your website on their desktop to installing your app and making a purchase, all in one place.
• Powerful Audience Segmentation: With GA4, you can create highly specific user audiences based on their in-app behavior. For example, you can create an audience of "users who completed level 5 but haven't made an in-app purchase" or "users who have read 3 articles in the last 7 days."
• Richer Reporting and Analysis: The native Firebase console is good for at-a-glance metrics, but GA4 provides much more advanced reporting tools. You can build custom funnels, path explorations, and retention reports to dig deep into user behavior and discover where they get stuck or what features they love most.
• Enhanced Integration with Google Products: Linking Firebase to GA4 enriches the data shared with other Google tools like Google Ads. The conversion data and audiences you define in GA4 can be used directly in Google Ads to run more effective ad campaigns that target high-value app users.

Prerequisites: What You Need First

Before you get started, make sure you have two things squared away to ensure the process is smooth.

1. A Firebase Project: This might sound obvious, but you need an active Firebase project. If you haven't created one yet, don't worry - we'll cover how to enable Analytics during the project creation process in the next section.
2. The Right Permissions: You’ll need to have the Owner or Editor role in your Firebase project. Likewise, on the Google Analytics side, you will need Editor permissions for the desired GA4 Account or Property. Without these permissions, the options to link the two services might not be visible.

It's also important to note that you should be linking to a Google Analytics 4 property. Universal Analytics has been sunset, so all new integrations are done with GA4. If you start a new Firebase project and don't have an existing GA4 property, Firebase will help you create one during the setup.

How to Enable Google Analytics for a New Firebase Project

If you're starting from scratch with a brand new app, integrating Google Analytics from day one is the best approach. Firebase makes this incredibly simple during the initial project setup.

Here's how to do it step-by-step:

Step 1: Go to the Firebase Console and Add a Project

Navigate to the Firebase console and sign in with your Google account. Click on the prominent "Add project" button to begin.

Step 2: Enter Your Project Name

Give your Firebase project a descriptive name. This name is for your reference within the Firebase console, so pick something that clearly identifies your app (e.g., "Awesome Fitness App" or "MyCompany-iOS-App"). Then, click "Continue."

Step 3: Enable Google Analytics

This is the most critical step. On the next screen, you’ll see a prompt asking if you want to "Enable Google Analytics for this project." Make sure the toggle is switched to the "On" position. Leaving this on is highly recommended, as enabling it later involves a few more steps. Click "Continue."

Step 4: Configure Google Analytics

Now, Firebase will ask you to connect to a Google Analytics account. You have two options:

• Use an existing GA4 account: If you already have a GA4 account and property set up (perhaps for your website), you can select it from the dropdown menu. This is the correct choice if you want to merge your app and web analytics into a single view.
• Create a new GA4 account: If you don't have an existing account or want to keep your app analytics separate, select "Create a new account." Give it a name, accept the terms, and specify the analytics location. Firebase will automatically provision a new GA4 account and property for you.

Once you've made your selection, click "Create project."

Firebase will take a minute or two to provision everything. Once it's finished, you’ll be taken to your new project's dashboard. Your Firebase project is now automatically linked to Google Analytics, and data will begin flowing as soon as you integrate the Firebase SDK into your app and users start engaging with it.

How to Link Google Analytics in an Existing Firebase Project

If you already have a Firebase project set up but skipped the analytics step during creation, you can still enable it at any time. The process is just as simple.

Step 1: Navigate to Project Settings

From your Firebase project dashboard, click the gear icon next to "Project Overview" in the top-left navigation menu, and then select "Project settings."

Step 2: Go to the "Integrations" Tab

In the Project settings menu, click on the tab labeled "Integrations." This is where you manage all third-party connections for your project, including Google-native tools like GA, Google Ads, and BigQuery.

Step 3: Find Google Analytics and Click "Enable"

On the Integrations page, you'll see a card for Google Analytics. Click on the "Enable" button within that card. If it has been linked to a different property in the past, the button might say "Manage" or "Link."

Step 4: Connect Your Google Analytics Property

Clicking "Enable" will launch the same configuration flow you see when creating a new project. You'll be prompted to either select an existing GA4 property from the dropdown list or create a new one. Once you make your choice, click "Enable Google Analytics."

That's it! Firebase will link the projects, and your app will start sending data to your chosen GA4 property. This process won’t erase any existing Firebase data, it simply establishes the connection and begins sending new event data from your app to GA4 from that moment forward.

What Happens After you Link the Two?

Once the integration is active, a powerful, bi-directional flow of information begins between Firebase and Google Analytics.

Data from Firebase to Google Analytics

The Firebase SDK for Google Analytics will automatically start collecting key events and user properties from your app and sending them to your linked GA4 property. You don't need to write any extra code to capture events like:

• first_open: Logged the first time a user launches your app after installation.
• session_start: Kicks off when a user engages with the app for longer than the minimum session duration.
• screen_view: Automatically tracks every time a user sees a new screen in your app.
• app_remove, app_update: Tracks uninstalls and updates.

You can find all of this incoming app data within your GA4 property by navigating to Reports > Engagement > Events or Reports > Tech > Tech details.

Data from Google Analytics back to Firebase

The integration isn't a one-way street. Linking GA4 also enhances your Firebase toolset. Any custom audiences you create in Google Analytics (like "users who have added an item to cart but not purchased") are automatically available in Firebase. You can then use these audiences to:

• Target Push Notifications: Use Firebase Cloud Messaging to send targeted messages to specific user segments.
• Personalize App Experiences: Use Firebase Remote Config to show different app configurations or features to different audiences.
• Run Experiments: Use Firebase A/B Testing to see how changes impact the behavior of a particular user group.

How to Verify the Connection Is Working

After setting everything up, you’ll probably want to confirm that data is flowing correctly. Standard reports in GA4 can sometimes take 24-48 hours to fully populate, so don't be alarmed if you see no data at first.

The fastest way to verify the link is by using DebugView.

1. Enable Debug Mode: You'll need to enable debug mode on your development device. This involves running a specific command when building the app for your device. For Android, you run an ADB shell command, for iOS, you launch the app with a specific argument in Xcode. Find the exact instructions by searching for "Enable debug events" in the Firebase documentation for your platform.
2. Open DebugView: In the Firebase console, go to Analytics > DebugView. Do the same in your GA4 property by navigating to Admin > Display > DebugView.
3. Interact With Your App: As you use the app on your debug-enabled device, you should see events appear in the DebugView real-time stream in both Firebase and GA4. This confirms that the connection is working and data is being sent.

Final Thoughts

Linking Firebase to Google Analytics is a foundational step for any app developer or marketer. It unlocks a deeper understanding of your users' behavior, enables powerful segmentation, and creates a unified view of your app and web performance. Whether you're starting fresh or updating an existing project, completing this simple integration pays massive dividends in the long run.

At Graphed, we believe getting insights shouldn't require you to become an analytics expert. After integrating Firebase and GA, your next challenge is turning all that raw data into clear takeaways. Instead of trying to master GA4's reporting interface, you could use Graphed to ask straightforward questions like, "What were our top 5 most engaged screens on iOS last week?" or "Create a daily chart of our first_open events for the past month." We handle pulling the data directly from your Google Analytics account so you can focus on building a better app, not a better report.