Swiggy Sarabjeet Singh Mar 28, 2023

How Swiggy Uses In-App Update API for Better App Adoption

Article Summary

Swiggy got 700,000 users to update their app in one week without sending them to the Play Store. Here's how they did it.

Swiggy's engineering team implemented Google's In-App Update API to solve a common problem: getting users to adopt the latest app version. They chose the flexible update flow, allowing downloads in the background while users continue ordering food.

Key Takeaways

Critical Insight

Swiggy achieved a massive increase in adoption rates by implementing in-app updates with smart frequency controls and persistent UI indicators.

The article includes full code snippets for both flexible and immediate update flows, plus the exact server-side configuration logic Swiggy uses.

About This Article

Problem

Swiggy needed users to update their app for bug fixes, security patches, and new features. The problem was that many users wouldn't go to the Play Store to manually update.

Solution

Sarabjeet Singh's team used Google's In-App Update API with AppUpdateManager and InstallStateUpdatedListener. This let users download updates in the background without leaving the app, and they could choose when to install.

Impact

Swiggy could now control update prompts through server-side smart config, limiting how often they appeared and resetting them after updates. This reduced friction while keeping users engaged with update notifications.