Google launches two new APIs to improve app intelligence and context (FIT, GOOG, GOOGL)

Thomson Reuters

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On Monday Google rolled out two new Awareness APIs that will give Android apps greater ability to react to a user's environment and behavior.

The two features, Snapshot API and Fence API, were first unveiled during Google’s I/O developer conference in May and are now available for developers through Google Play services. 

The two features use seven different kinds of contextual feedback to give developers a better understanding of users’ behavior, including location, weather, user activity, and nearby beacons. Used together, these features will enable developers to provide more customized user experiences.

• Snapshot API lets the app request context-based information about users, such as their current location and weather conditions in their area.
• Fence API allows the app to react to changes in users’ context. For example, it can tell the developer when the user has plugged in their headphones, so that developers can push notifications to users about certain music or videos.

The Awareness tool set is a promising offering for developers looking to bolster customer lifetime value (CLV). Providing apps with features that can offer a more customized user experience is one way that app publishers can serve more effective user engagement tactics, like push notifications and in-app messaging. This, in turn, improves the chances of monetizing app users. Nevertheless, it’s important that developers do not abuse the new features, lest they risk alienating users by sending notifications too frequently.

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