iOS Experiments

Supported on: iOS SDK 1.0.61+

The experiments module assigns users to variants using a deterministic hash. No server call is needed — assignment is instant, works offline, and the same user always gets the same variant (as long as the user is in the experiment — see Who Is in an Experiment).

Two ways to run an experiment

Servable surface experiments — A/B test a whole paywall, onboarding flow, in-app message, or survey with no branching code. You design the variants in the Console and the SDK serves the right one automatically. Best for testing the content or design of a managed surface.
Code-level experiments — read the assigned variant yourself with getVariant or getExperimentConfig and branch in your own code. Best for feature flags, custom UI, or logic that isn’t a managed surface.

Servable Surface Experiments

Supported on: iOS SDK 1.0.65+

Run an A/B test on a live paywall, onboarding flow, in-app message, or survey without changing your app code. In the Console, create an experiment on the surface: the control variant points at the live entity you already present, and the treatment variant carries an alternate configuration. When your app presents that surface the way it normally does, the SDK does the rest:

// Present the live paywall exactly as before -- no experiment code here.
AppDNA.presentPaywall(
    id: "premium_paywall",
    from: viewController,
    delegate: self
)

The SDK deterministically buckets the user and:

Treatment cohort → renders the treatment’s configuration in place of the live entity.
Control cohort (and users on older SDK versions) → renders the live entity unchanged.

Exposure is tracked automatically the first time the surface is presented to a user in the experiment, so conversions attribute to the experiment with no extra calls. A user outside the experiment’s targeting rules or traffic allocation sees the live entity and is not exposed (SDK 1.0.82+). The treatment configuration is not added to the live entity, so a user who isn’t bucketed into the treatment — or who is on an SDK version that predates this feature — never sees it. This works for every managed surface: paywalls, onboarding flows, in-app messages, and surveys. You only reach for the code-level API below when you’re experimenting on something that isn’t a managed surface.

Get Variant

let variant = AppDNA.experiments.getVariant("paywall-test")

switch variant {
case "control":
    showStandardPaywall()
case "variant_a":
    showNewPaywall()
default:
    showStandardPaywall() // Always handle the default case
}

experimentId is the experiment’s ID, not its name — copy it from the experiment’s page or the ID column of the experiments list in the Console; "paywall-test" above is a placeholder. Returns the variant ID set in the Console ("control", "variant_a", etc.) or nil if the experiment is not in the config the SDK holds, is not running (paused, completed or archived), does not target iOS, or the user is outside its targeting rules or traffic allocation (SDK 1.0.82+; see Who Is in an Experiment). The country rule reads the device region (Locale.current, then the preferred languages), the minimum-version rule CFBundleShortVersionString, and “new users only” the app’s install date.

Always handle the nil / default case. Experiments can be archived or stopped at any time from the Console.

Check a Specific Variant

let isInVariantB = AppDNA.isInVariant(experimentId: "paywall-test", variantId: "b")

Returns true only if the user is currently bucketed into the named variant. Useful as a guard before rendering variant-specific UI.

Get a Per-Variant Config Value

When an experiment variant carries a config payload, read individual keys with:

let headline = AppDNA.getExperimentConfig(experimentId: "paywall-test", key: "headline") as? String ?? "Get Premium"

Returns Any? (string, number, boolean, array, or dictionary depending on what the Console stored).

Module Access

let experiments = AppDNA.experiments

Module Methods

Method	Signature	Description
`getVariant`	`getVariant(_ experimentId: String) -> String?`	Get the assigned variant
`getExposures`	`getExposures() -> [(experimentId: String, variant: String)]`	Get the exposures recorded since the app started or since `reset()`

The top-level AppDNA object also exposes AppDNA.getExperimentVariant(experimentId:), AppDNA.isInVariant(experimentId:variantId:), and AppDNA.getExperimentConfig(experimentId:key:) as convenience methods that delegate to this module.

Exposure Tracking

The SDK tracks an experiment_exposure event the first time it assigns a variant for a given experiment — on getVariant(), isInVariant(), getExperimentConfig() or a servable surface. Further calls do not create duplicate events while the app keeps running. The SDK keeps exposures in memory, so after an app restart or AppDNA.reset() the next assignment is tracked again; a new session alone does not. To inspect which experiments the user has been exposed to since the app started:

// Exposures recorded since the app started (or since reset())
let exposures = AppDNA.experiments.getExposures()
// Returns [(experimentId: String, variant: String)]

Experiment Lifecycle

Status	`getVariant()` returns
Draft	`nil` — not visible to SDKs
Running	Assigned variant string
Paused	`nil` — servable surfaces show the live entity
Completed	`nil` — removed from config. A servable surface’s winner is live only if it was rolled out (Auto-Deploy Winner or Deploy winner)
Archived	`nil` — removed from config

A status change reaches the device with its next config fetch; until then the SDK keeps the definition it has. See Experiment Lifecycle.

Full Example

import AppDNASDK

class PaywallExperiment {
    private weak var presenter: UIViewController?

    init(presenter: UIViewController) {
        self.presenter = presenter
    }

    func showPaywall() {
        guard let vc = presenter else { return }

        let variant = AppDNA.experiments.getVariant("paywall_redesign")

        let paywallId: String
        switch variant {
        case "new_design":
            paywallId = "paywall_v2"
        default:
            paywallId = "paywall_v1"
        }

        AppDNA.paywall.present(
            paywallId,
            from: vc,
            context: PaywallContext(
                placement: "settings",
                experiment: "paywall_redesign",
                variant: variant ?? "control"
            )
        )
    }
}

Experiments are created and managed in the Console under Experiments. The SDK uses MurmurHash3 for deterministic assignment — the same user ID always gets the same variant across sessions, platforms, and even offline.

​Two ways to run an experiment

​Servable Surface Experiments

​Get Variant

​Check a Specific Variant

​Get a Per-Variant Config Value

​Module Access

​Module Methods

​Exposure Tracking

​Experiment Lifecycle

​Full Example

Two ways to run an experiment

Servable Surface Experiments

Get Variant

Check a Specific Variant

Get a Per-Variant Config Value

Module Access

Module Methods

Exposure Tracking

Experiment Lifecycle

Full Example