Major Updates to Snowplow Web-Based Trackers
After the release of our Javascript v4 tracker in October last year, we've expanded its capabilities across multiple platforms. These updates enhance performance, improve the developer experience, and strengthen tracking capabilities across our entire web-based tracking ecosystem. Snowplow customers can now benefit from seamless integration options for your use cases, from simple websites to complex hybrid applications.
Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager ('GTM') is one of the most popular ways to implement Snowplow tracking on an existing website, as you do not need to redeploy the website back-end to get tracking live. Our new Snowplow tag, based on the JS v4 tracker, delivers significant improvements including:
- Asynchronous cookie access for optimized performance
- Streamlined plugin architecture with modern, commonly-used plugins
- Removal of deprecated features for a cleaner implementation
- Enhanced template and settings configuration options
A full list of JS tracker plugin changes is available on the JavaScript v3-v4 migration guide, and our updated documentation covers more common use-cases, along with a better quick start experience. Snowplow tag implementation is now more straightforward and easier than ever before!
React Native V4
We've engineered a complete overhaul of the React Native tracker, rebuilding it from the ground up in TypeScript and integrating the powerful JS v4 tracker core. This update brings:
- Full Expo support for React Native tracking
- Seamless web platform compatibility
- Access to the complete JS tracker plugin ecosystem
- Enhanced global context configuration
- Integration with our unified JS tracker monorepo
The version jump from v2.1.2 to v4+ aligns all trackers within the monorepo, simplifying version management, and ensuring consistent functionality across platforms.
WebView Plugin for Hybrid Apps
Our new WebView plugin for JS v4 tracker simplifies tracking in hybrid apps! Hybrid apps are mobile apps that in addition to a native interface, provide part of the UI through an embedded web app. The new WebView plugin enables:
- Seamless event forwarding between web and mobile components
- Single web tracking implementation for both standalone and hybrid scenarios
- Full compatibility with Android, iOS, and React Native trackers
- Autotracked events and entities
The WebView plugin creates rich, detailed web view events by combining:
- Standard web properties and webpage entities
- Mobile-specific entities and screen information
- Clear event source identification through tracker versioning
- Full compatibility with our Unified Digital dbt data model
Using our newly updated WebView tracker, the WebView plugin automates event forwarding, eliminating the need for manual WebView tracker implementation for hybrid apps.
Try it Out Today
Ready to enhance your tracking capabilities? Getting started following the simple steps below:
- Google Tag Manager users: Update to our new GTM tag through the template gallery
- React Native developers: Install the v4 tracker using npm:
npm install @snowplow/react-native-tracker - Hybrid app developers: Add the WebView plugin to your existing JS tracker setup with
npm install @snowplow/browser-plugin-webview - Visit our documentation for detailed implementation guides and best practices.
If you’re new to Snowplow and want more information about our web-based trackers, schedule a demo today.