Get started with mobile app surveys

With the Responsly Mobile SDK, a survey appears inside your app at the moment you choose: after a purchase, on a given screen, when the app starts, or when the user taps a button. The survey is the same form you build in Responsly, shown in a native window over your app.

What in-app feedback is good for and which moments are worth asking about is covered on the in-app surveys page. This guide is about setting it up.

An NPS survey in an iOS app shown three ways: as a bottom sheet, as a dialog and on the full screen

What you need

Access to mobile app surveys. The feature is switched on per team, and the SDK packages are provided on request. Write to contact@responsly.com with the name of your team and the platforms you build for.
A developer, once. They add the SDK to the app and tell it what the user does. See Install the Responsly Mobile SDK in your app.
A form. Any Responsly form works. See Create and design a survey for your mobile app.

The SDK supports iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter and Unity.

How it works

Your app starts and the SDK downloads the settings of your mobile surveys.
While the app is used, it tells the SDK who the user is, what they do and which screen they are on.
The SDK compares that with the rules of each survey. The check happens on the device.
When a survey matches, it opens in a bottom sheet, a dialog or on the full screen.
The response is saved in Responsly with your other responses to that form.

Set up your first mobile survey

Get access. Once the feature is on for your team, every form has a Mobile app tab under Share.
Install the SDK. Send your developer the SDK key from the Mobile app tab and the link to the developer documentation.
Create the form. Keep it short: one to three questions work best in an app.
Switch the channel on. Open the form, go to Share → Mobile app and turn on Show this form in the mobile app.
Choose when it appears. Under When to show, add a trigger, for example the event your app sends after a purchase. See Choose when and to whom a mobile survey appears.
Save. A note next to the Save button tells you when there are unsaved changes.
Check it on a phone. Do the action that triggers the survey in a test build of the app. Changes reach a device within about 10 minutes.

The Mobile app tab of a form: the switch that shows the form in the mobile app, the Save button and the Activity card with the numbers and chart of the last 30 days

After the first users see the survey, the Activity card fills with numbers. See Check the activity and results of a mobile survey.

What you can change without an app update

Without an app update	Needs a new app version
Questions, logic, translations and the end page	Installing or updating the SDK
Colors and fonts of the form	Sending a new event or screen name from the app
Who sees the survey, when and how often	Passing a new user attribute
The window: bottom sheet, dialog or full screen, and its size	Adding a button that opens a survey
Switching a survey on or off

Tip: Ask your developer to send a few more events than you need today, such as order placed, onboarding finished or support chat closed. You can then start a new survey on any of them without waiting for a release.

Next steps

FAQ

Do I need a developer to run surveys in my mobile app?

Once. A developer adds the Responsly Mobile SDK to the app and sends it the events you want to react to. After that you create surveys, choose who sees them and switch them on and off in Responsly, without a developer and without an app update.

Which platforms does the Mobile SDK support?

Native iOS and Android apps, and apps built with React Native (including Expo development builds), Flutter and Unity.

Do I have to release a new version of the app to change a survey?

No. Questions, design, targeting and frequency are set in Responsly and reach the app within about 10 minutes. A release is needed only to install or update the SDK, or when the app should send a new event, screen name or user attribute.