Believe it or not - Apple cannot track how many people are using its News app

Apple and publishers cannot track how many people are using the News app at the moment due to a glitch.

One of the key metrics for digital news platforms is the number of users using and reading them. Unfortunately for Apple and publishers who signed up to distribute their content on the News app, both parties are unable to track usage statistics at the moment.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, told The Wall Street Journal that the company "missed the error" as it was focusing on other aspects of the News app. He did not elaborate on how the glitch happened or when it would be resolved.

The Wall Street Journal - "We’re in the process of fixing that now, but our numbers are lower than reality,” he said. “We don’t know what the right number is,” but he added that it was better to undercount than overcount traffic.

As a result of the glitch, Apple has been underestimating the number of readers and passing the inaccurate information to publishers. These information are crucial to publishers as they determine the allocation of resources and the ability to sell advertising.

Nonetheless, Eddy said that the company is happy with the News app. He cited positive feedback from publishers and claims that usage has "scaled very fast". Several major publishers have signed up to put their content on the Apple News app such as Time, the New York Times, Business Insider and Washington Post. The News app is currently only available in the U.S, the U.K and Australia.

Source: The Wall Street Journal