What is crash reporting? Definition and examples
Software that automatically records when an app crashes or throws an error, with technical details for developers.
Crash reporting: Software that automatically records when an app crashes or throws an error, with technical details for developers.
Crash reporters such as Sentry, Crashlytics and Instabug capture stack traces and device details without the user doing anything.
They tell you that something broke and where in the code. A stack trace may still leave the person’s goal unclear. Check a tool’s additional feedback and replay features separately.
Example
| Crash reporting tells you | User feedback tells you |
|---|---|
| The error and stack trace | What they were trying to do |
| How many devices | What they expected instead |
| Only crashes and errors | Also confusing screens and wrong results |
Crash reporting vs user feedback
| Crash reporting | User feedback | |
|---|---|---|
| Catches | Crashes and errors in code | Anything people notice, including wrong results |
| Needs the user | No | Yes |
| Misses | Bugs that don’t throw an error | Crashes people don’t bother to report |
Many of the worst bugs never crash: a total that is wrong, a discount that doesn’t apply, a button that does nothing. Only people notice those. Use crash reporting for errors and a feedback button for everything else.
Linking the two
If your app passes an error ID or release into the feedback report, you can match what a person saw with the error your crash tool logged at the same moment.
Where Bopmigo fits
Bopmigo is for the problems people notice, which crash reporters miss. Many teams use both.
Questions
Do I need both?
If you have a mobile app, usually yes: crashes and what people report are different signals.
Which tools do crash reporting?
Sentry, Firebase Crashlytics and Bugsnag are common choices.
Do I need crash reporting for a small app?
Yes, if it runs on many devices. Crashes on devices you don’t own are otherwise invisible.