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Asked: 2024-12-17T02:57:21+05:30

Is there a reliable method to detect whether Salesforce is being accessed through the mobile application as opposed to a desktop browser?

I’ve been diving into Salesforce lately, and I’ve hit a bit of a wall that I hope someone can help me with. It’s about figuring out whether users are accessing Salesforce through the mobile app or a desktop browser. You would think it would be straightforward, but it’s proving to be a bit tricky!

So here’s the deal: in our organization, we have a lot of field sales reps who are constantly on the move. They rely heavily on the Salesforce mobile app to track leads, update opportunities, and log calls while they’re out and about. However, sometimes I feel like there’s this gap in understanding how they’re using the platform. For example, are they missing out on any key features that are only available on the desktop? Or are they trying to perform actions on the mobile app that are much easier to do on a larger screen?

What I’d really love is to have a reliable method to determine how users are accessing Salesforce. I’ve seen some suggestions around using different IDs or headers to identify mobile versus desktop, but I’m not sure if those are truly reliable. I want to create a better user experience and possibly tailor our training or resources based on how people are accessing Salesforce.

Can anyone share their insights or experiences on this? Are there specific techniques you’ve found effective? Maybe there’s an API call I could mess with or some hidden settings in Salesforce that could shed light on this? I know there are tools that can track user activity in a more general sense, but I’m specifically looking for a way to differentiate between mobile and desktop access in a reliable manner.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! It would be great to get a discussion going on this because I think it could benefit more than just my team. Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!

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    2 Answers

    1. It sounds like you’re deep into figuring out the best way to track how users access Salesforce, which is super important for understanding usage patterns! To help with your situation, there are a couple of things you could look into.

      First off, you might want to explore the Salesforce Setup Menu. Go to Setup > Reports > User Adoption. This section can give you some insights about how users are engaging with Salesforce, though it might not directly show you mobile vs desktop.

      A more technical approach would be to take advantage of Salesforce APIs. By using the REST API or Bulk API, you can pull user login data and look for patterns in their user agent strings. User agents often indicate whether the user is on mobile or desktop. This would mean writing a bit of code and parsing those strings to determine the platform used.

      Another option is to use Lightning Component events to trigger JavaScript code that checks if the device is mobile or not. There are libraries like ua-parser-js that can help with detecting the platform based on the user agent string.

      Finally, if you have access to tools like Google Analytics or other tracking solutions, they might already have ways to differentiate access methods. You could set up events based on user interactions in Salesforce that could tell you more about how features are being used on different platforms.

      It’s definitely a challenging task, but I believe that with a little digging into the APIs and user data, you’ll find the insights you need to tailor your training and resources better. Good luck, and I hope you get the information you’re looking for soon!

    2. To determine how users are accessing Salesforce—whether through the mobile app or a desktop browser—you can leverage the Salesforce API to gather this information reliably. One effective approach is to use the LoginHistory object, which records login attempts, including details such as the client type. By querying the UserAgent field of the LoginHistory object, you can distinguish between mobile and desktop access based on the user agent string. Typically, mobile user agents will contain keywords like “Mobile” or “Android”, while desktop user agents will not. This method allows you to obtain historical login data for users, enabling you to analyze trends in access patterns over time.

      In addition to using the LoginHistory object, consider implementing a custom tracking solution via a Visualforce page or Lightning component that captures the user’s device type during login. By storing this data in a custom object, you can further enhance your reporting capabilities and tailor the training materials or resources based on their access patterns. Additionally, ensure to regularly communicate with your field sales reps to understand their pain points and gather insights on which features they find most challenging to access on mobile versus desktop. This user-centric approach will not only improve their experience but also drive better adoption of Salesforce features across your organization.