signals

Signal

The Signal extension allows marketers to send a "signal" to their apps through the Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDKs. This signal might tell the Mobile SDKs or the apps to complete tasks, such as send PII-labeled data, to trigger a postback to a third-party ad-network and open an app deep link or URL. To ensure that signals are sent or are activated, the marketers need to configure triggers and traits in the Data Collection UI.

The Signal extension is bundled with the MobileCore (Android)/ACPCore (iOS) extension and allows you to send postbacks to third-party endpoints and open URLs, such as web URLs or application deep links, when using rules actions in the Data Collection UI.

To send PII data to external destinations, the PII action can trigger the Rules Engine when certain triggers and traits match. When setting a rule, you can also set the PII action for a Signal event. The collectPii API can then be used to trigger the rule and send the PII data to a remote server.

To get started with Signal extension, complete the following steps:

1. Add the Signal extension to your app.
2. Define the necessary rules in the Data Collection UI.
3. (Optional) When using Send PII actions in the Data Collection UI, implement the APIs to collect PII data and send it to the configured third party destination.

For more information about creating and configuring a rule in the Data Collection UI, see Rules.

Watch the Video

{% embed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-z9ivQjzOY" caption="Video: Sending Postbacks with Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDKs" %}

Add the Signal extension to your app

{% tabs %} {% tab title="Android" %}

Java

Add the Mobile Core extension to your project using the app's Gradle file.

implementation 'com.adobe.marketing.mobile:sdk-core:1.+'

Import the Signal extension in your application's main activity.

import com.adobe.marketing.mobile.*;

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="iOS (AEP 3.x)" %} ​Add the AEPSignal extension and it's dependency, the Mobile Core extension to your project using Cocoapods.

Add following pods in your Podfile:

pod 'AEPCore','~> 3.0'
pod 'AEPSignal','~> 3.0'

Import the Signal libraries:

Swift

import AEPCore
import AEPSignal

Objective-C

@import AEPCore;
@import AEPSignal;

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="iOS (ACP 2.x)" %} ​The Signal extension is included in the Mobile Core extension. Add the Mobile Core extension to your project using Cocoapods.

Add following pods in your Podfile:

pod 'ACPCore', '~> 2.0'

Import the Signal libraries:

Swift

In Swift, the ACPCore includes ACPSignal:

import ACPCore

Objective-C

#import "ACPCore.h"
#import "ACPSignal.h"

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="React Native" %}

JavaScript

Importing the Signal extension:

import {ACPSignal} from '@adobe/react-native-acpcore';

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Flutter" %}

Dart

Importing the Signal extension:

import 'package:flutter_acpcore/flutter_acpsignal.dart';

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Cordova" %}

Cordova

After creating your Cordova app and adding the Android and iOS platforms, the Signal extension for Cordova can be added with this command:

cordova plugin add https://github.com/adobe/cordova-acpcore.git

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Unity" %}

C#

After importing the ACPCore.unitypackage, the Signal extension for Unity can be added with following code in the MainScript

using com.adobe.marketing.mobile;

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Xamarin" %}

C#

After adding the iOS ACPCore NuGet package or the Android ACPSignal NuGet package, the Signal extension can be added by this import statement

using Com.Adobe.Marketing.Mobile;

{% endtab %} {% endtabs %}

Register the Signal extension

The registerExtension() API registers the Signal extension with the Mobile Core extension. This API allows the extension to send and receive events to and from the Mobile SDK.

To register the Identity extension, use the following code sample:

{% tabs %} {% tab title="Android" %}

Java

After calling the setApplication() method in the onCreate() method, register the Signal extension. If the registration was not successful, an InvalidInitException is thrown.

public class MobileApp extends Application {

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();
        MobileCore.setApplication(this);
        try {
            Signal.registerExtension();
            // register other extensions
            MobileCore.start(new AdobeCallback () {
                @Override
                public void call(Object o) {
                    MobileCore.configureWithAppID("yourAppId");
                }
            });    
        } catch (Exception e) {
            //Log the exception
         }
    }
}

Important: The Signal extension is automatically included in the Mobile Core extension by Maven. When you manually install the Signal extension, ensure that you add the signal-1.x.x.aar library to your project. {% endtab %}

{% tab title="iOS (AEP 3.x)" %}

In your app's application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions, register the Signal extension with Mobile Core:

Swift

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
     MobileCore.registerExtensions([Signal.self, ...]) {
       MobileCore.configureWith(appId: "yourAppId")
       // Any other post registration processing
     }
     return true;
}

Objective-C

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
    [AEPMobileCore registerExtensions:@[AEPMobileSignal.class, ...] completion:^{
        [AEPMobileCore configureWithAppId: @"yourAppId"];
        // Any other post registration processing
    }];
    return YES;
 }

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="iOS (ACP 2.x)" %} In your app'sapplication:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions, register the Signal extension with Mobile Core:

Swift

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
     ACPCore.configure(withAppId: "yourAppId")   
     ACPSignal.registerExtension()
     ACPCore.start(nil)
     // Override point for customization after application launch.
     return true;
}

Objective-C

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
    [ACPCore configureWithAppId:@"yourAppId"];
    [ACPSignal registerExtension];
    [ACPCore start:nil];
    // Override point for customization after application launch.
    return YES;
 }

Important: The Signal extension is automatically included in the Mobile Core pod. When you manually install the Signal extension, ensure that you add the libACPSignal_iOS.a library to your project. {% endtab %}

{% tab title="React Native" %}

JavaScript

When using React Native, registering Signal with Mobile Core should be done in native code which is shown under the Android and iOS tabs. {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Flutter" %}

Dart

When using Flutter, registering Signal with Mobile Core should be done in native code which is shown under the Android and iOS tabs. {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Cordova" %}

Cordova

When using Cordova, registering Signal with Mobile Core must be done in native code which is shown under the Android and iOS tabs. {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Unity" %}

C#

Register the extension in the start() function:

void Start()
{   
  ACPSignal.RegisterExtension();
}

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Xamarin" %}

C#

iOS

Register the Signal extension with the Mobile Core by adding the following to your app's FinishedLaunching: delegate method:

public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
{
  ACPSignal.RegisterExtension();
  // start Mobile Core
  ACPCore.Start(startCallback);

  return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
}

private void startCallback()
{
  // set app id from the Data Collection UI
  ACPCore.ConfigureWithAppID("yourAppId");
}

Android

Register the Signal extension with the Mobile Core by adding the following to your app's OnCreate: method:

protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
  base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);
    LoadApplication(new App());
  ACPCore.Application = this.Application;
  ACPSignal.RegisterExtension();
  // start Mobile Core
  ACPCore.Start(new CoreStartCompletionCallback());
}

class CoreStartCompletionCallback : Java.Lang.Object, IAdobeCallback
{
  public void Call(Java.Lang.Object callback)
  {
  // set app id from the Data Collection UI
    ACPCore.ConfigureWithAppID("yourAppId");
  }
}

{% endtab %} {% endtabs %}

Implement the Mobile SDK to send PII data to external destinations

To send PII data to external destinations, the PII action can trigger the Rules Engine when the configured triggers and traits match. When creating a rule, you can set the PII action for a Signal event, so that collectPii can trigger the rule and send the PII data.

For more information about collectPii and its usage, see collectPii.

For more information about how to configure the Signal postbacks in the Data Collection UI, see Signal extension and Rules Engine integration.