DCR Norway Audio ios App SDK

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Engineering Portal / Digital / International DCR / DCR Norway Audio ios App SDK

Special Note regarding iOS14

Apple recently released a new policy on consent requirements for its mobile advertising tool, Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). With this new policy, (App Tracking Setting) users can choose whether an IDFA may be used by mobile applications.

More detailed information is located on our DCR Video iOS14 Migration page.

Prerequisites

Before you start the integration, you will need:

Item Description Source
App ID (appid) Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product. Provided by Nielsen
Nielsen SDK Includes SDK frameworks and sample implementation; See iOS SDK Release Notes Download

If need App ID(s) or our SDKs, feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to help you get started. Refer to Digital Measurement Onboarding guide for information on how to get a Nielsen App SDK and appid.

Implementation

This guide covers implementation steps for iOS using Xcode utilizing the Standard Nielsen SDK for DCR

If you are building an app for the 'kids category' please review the Opt Out Requirement.

Setting up your Development Environment

Prior to SDK Version 6.2.0.0 the IOS framework has been distributed as a static library packaged into framework bundle format. Apple recommends to use dynamic framework, it has some benefits over static libraries like less executable file size of an app, faster startup time and native support in xCode IDE. Nielsen AppSDK has been transformed into dynamic framework in this release (static framework is still available).

If migrating from the static library to this new dynamic framework, once implemented, unless your specific application requires, you can remove the following Frameworks that were once required: [AdSupport, JavascriptCore, SystemConfiguration, Security, AVFoundation, libc++]

The Dynamic framework is created as a fat framework. It means that it contains slices required for devices (armv7, arm64) as well as slices required for simulators (i386, x86_64). Simulator slices are needed to let clients build and debug their app on the simulators, but they should be removed before sending the app to the AppStore. The example of the shell script that should be added as a Run Script phase in the application can be found below.

How to obtain the NielsenAppApi.Framework

The Nielsen AppSDK can either be downloaded directly or can be integrated directly within an application through the use of CocoaPods. We recommend using the CocoaPods-based integration whenever possible to ensure you maintain the most recent changes and enhancements to the Nielsen libraries.

Configuring Xcode Development Environment

Starting with SDK version 6.0.0.0, the Nielsen App SDK is compatible with Apple iOS versions 8.0 and above. In addition, when using the dynamic framework, all the required frameworks are linked automatically as the are needed. More details can be found here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24902787/dont-we-need-to-link-framework-to-xcode-project-anymore

Note: All communications between the SDK and the Census (Collection Facility) use HTTPS.

Download Framework

The first step is to download and copy the NielsenAppApi.framework bundle to the app project directory. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Add Framework

In the General tab for app configuration add NielsenAppApi.framework in the list of Embedded Binaries. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Add Path

Add path to the NielsenAppApi.framework in the Framework Search Paths build setting. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Import Framework

Add NielsenAppApi.framework module in the source file of your app:

Using Swift

Add the following: 

import NielsenAppApi

Using Objective-C

@import NielsenAppApi;

SDK Initialization

The latest version of the Nielsen App SDK allows instantiating multiple instances of the SDK object, which can be used simultaneously without any issue. The sharedInstance API that creates a singleton object was deprecated prior to version 5.1.1. (Click here for an example of multiple instances)

The following table contains the list of arguments that can be passed via the AppInfo JSON schema.

Parameter / Argument Description Source Required? Example
appid Unique Nielsen ID for the application. The ID is a GUID data type. If you did not receive your App ID, let us know and we will provide you. Nielsen-specified Yes PXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
nol_devDebug Enables Nielsen console logging. Only required for testing
Nielsen-specified Optional DEBUG

Debug flag for development environment

Player application developers / integrators can use Debug flag to check whether an App SDK API call made is successful. To activate the Debug flag, Pass the argument @"nol_devDebug":@"INFO", in the JSON string . The permitted values are:

  • INFO: Displays the API calls and the input data from the application (validate player name, app ID, etc.). It can be used as certification Aid.
  • WARN: Indicates potential integration / configuration errors or SDK issues.
  • ERROR: Indicates important integration errors or non-recoverable SDK issues.
  • DEBUG: Debug logs, used by the developers to debug more complex issues.

Once the flag is active, it logs each API call made and the data passed. The log created by this flag is minimal.

Note: DO NOT activate the Debug flag in a production environment.

Swift Example

Sample SDK Initialization Code

NielsenInit.swift 

class NielsenInit: NSObject {
    class func createNielsenAppApi(delegate: NielsenAppApiDelegate) -> NielsenAppApi?{
    let appInformation:[String: String] = [
           "appid": "PE392366B-F2C1-4BC4-AB62-A7DAFDCXXXX",
           "nol_devDebug": "DEBUG"
        ]
        return NielsenAppApi(appInfo:appInformation, delegate:delegate)}}


ViewController.swift 

class ViewController: UIViewController, NielsenAppApiDelegate, AVPictureInPictureControllerDelegate, CLLocationManagerDelegate  {

    let avPlayerViewController = AVPlayerViewController()
    var avPlayer:AVPlayer?
    var nielsenAppApi: NielsenAppApi!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        self.nielsenAppApi = NielsenInit.createNielsenAppApi(delegate: self)
        NSLog("Nielsen SDK initialized")
}}

Objective C

Sample SDK Initialization Code

Initialize the Nielsen App object within the viewDidLoad view controller delegate method using initWithAppInfo:delegate:

If App SDK is initialized using init or new methods, it will ignore the API calls resulting in no measurement. The SDK will not return any errors.

#import "NlsAppApiFactory.h"
#import <NielsenAppApi/NielsenAppApi.h>

@implementation NlsAppApiFactory
+ (NielsenAppApi *)createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:(id<NielsenAppApiDelegate>)delegate;
{
    NSDictionary *appInformation = @{
                                     @"appid": "PE392366B-F2C1-4BC4-AB62-A7DAFDC51XXX",
                                     @"nol_devDebug": @"DEBUG"
                                     };
    return [[NielsenAppApi alloc] initWithAppInfo:appInformation delegate:delegate];
}
@end


The following would be the NlsAppApiFactory.h file: 

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

@class NielsenAppApi;
@protocol NielsenAppApiDeligate;
@interface NlsAppApiFactory : NSObject
+ (NielsenAppAPI *) createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:(id<NielsenAppApiDelegate>)delegate;
@end
}}


The following might be in the Viewcontroller.m 

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    
    //Setting background image
    UIImage *backgroundImage = [UIImage imageNamed:@"new_ios_bg.png"];
    UIImageView *backgroundImageView=[[UIImageView alloc]initWithFrame:self.view.frame];
    backgroundImageView.image=backgroundImage;
    [self.view insertSubview:backgroundImageView atIndex:0];
    
    //Mark: In NielsenInit class we are initialising the Nielsen SDK.
    
    //Getting the instance of Nielsen SDK
    nielsenApi = [NielsenInit createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:nil];
}


Configure Metadata

All the SDK methods handles only two types of objects: NSString, NSDictionary. The parameters passed must be either a JSON formatted string or a NSDictionary object. The JSON passed in the SDK must be well-formed.

  • NSDictionary object
    • If an object of unexpected type is passed to the method, the error message will be logged.
    • If string has invalid JSON format, the error message will be logged.
  • JSON value must be string value.
    • This includes boolean and numeric values. For example, a value of true should be represented with "true", number value 123 should be "123".
    • All the Nielsen Key names (e.g. appid, program) are case-sensitive. Use the correct variable name as specified in the documentation.
  • JSON string can be prepared using either raw NSString or serialized NSDictionary.


Create channelName Metadata

channelName should remain constant throughout the completion of an episode or live stream.

Key Description Values Required
channelName Any string representing the channel/stream custom ✓

Create Content Metadata

Content metadata should remain constant throughout the entirety of an episode/clip including when ads play.

program and title metadata values should be passed to SDK as UTF-8 strings.


Keys Description Values Required/Obligatory
type type of asset "content" ✓
isAudio indicate measurement of audio ads or audio content "true" ✓
assetid unique ID assigned to asset (64 character limit) custom
(no Special Characters)		 ✓
program (string) name of program (254 character limit) custom ✓
title (string) episode title (max 254 characters) custom ✓
length length of content in seconds seconds ("0" for 24/7 Livestream if only one assetid is used for the whole stream. If reporting on program level, length of the program. For Event-Livestreams planned length. For on-demand stream length) ✓
airdate the airdate in the linear over-the-air broadcast (publication date).
This is required for both LIVE & VOD		 Supported formats are:


YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS

YYYY-MM-DDHH:MI:SS

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS+xx:xx

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS-xx:xx

YYYYMMDDHH:MI:SS

MM-DD-YYYY

MM/DD/YYYY

✓
scheduledEndDate the airdate when this particular asset ended in the linear over-the-air broadcast.
This is required for both LIVE & VOD. In the case of VOD, this will be the airdate + length.		 This should be the same format as airdate ✓
isfullepisode full episode flag "y"- full episode, "n"- non full episode ✓
adloadtype type of ad load:

"1" Linear – matches over-the-air ad load

"2" Dynamic – Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)

"2" - DCR measures content with dynamic ads ✓
stationType OTA station flag and/or OTA station type

"0" Custom station built per user

"1" OTA streaming station with the same adload

"2" OTA station with a different ad load

"3" Multicast eRadio or online station

"4" On Demand Audio(podcasting)

✓

stationId (string) name of the channel custom ✓
clientid

parent ID – value is automatically populated through provided App ID.
In order to override the brand configured to the App ID, pass parent
value here and the sub-brand ID associated to that brand in the subbrand
key (e.g. multiple brands in App)

provided by Nielsen

subbrand vcid/sub-brand ID – value is automatically populated through provided

App ID. In order to override the sub-brand configured to the App ID, value can
be passed here (e.g. multiple sub-brands in App). clientId does not need to be provided.

provided by Nielsen

progen (string) genre information (max 254 characters)

custom



Metadata Example

Swift 

let contentMetadata = [
    "type": "content",
    "isAudio": "true",
    "assetid": "C77664",
    "title": "Program S2, E3",
    "isfullepisode": "Yes",
    "program": "Program Name",
    "length": "3600",
    "airdate": "20200321 10:05:00",
    "adloadtype": "2",
 
];


Objective-C 

 
NSDictionary * contentMetadata = @ {
    @ "type": @ "content",
    @"isAudio": @"true",
    @ "assetid": @ "C77664",
    @ "title": @ "S2,E3",
    @ "isfullepisode": @ "y",  
    @ "program": @ "Program Name",
    @ "length": @ "3600",
    @ "airdate": @ "20200321 10:05:00",
    @ "adloadtype": @ "2",
  
}

Ad Metadata

The Ad Metadata (if applicable) should be passed for each individual ad.

Keys Description Values Required
type type of Ad 'preroll', 'midroll', 'postroll'
'ad' - If specific type can not be identified.		 ✓
assetid unique ID assigned to Ad custom
(no Special Characters)		 ✓

Example Ad Object

// create Ad object
"ad": {
  "type": "preroll",
  "assetid": "AD-ID123"
}

Configure Static Metadata if Applicable

The below is to measure Static Content.

The Nielsen reserved keys are:

Key Description Data Type Value Required?
type asset type fixed 'static' Yes
section section of each site (e.g. section value should be first level in page URL: website.com/section). Limit to 25 unique values dynamic custom
(no Special Characters)		 Yes
segA custom segment for reporting: Limit to 25 unique values across custom segments (segA + segB + segC) dynamic custom No
segB custom segment for reporting: Limit to 25 unique values across custom segments (segA + segB + segC) dynamic custom No
segC custom segment for reporting: Limit to 25 unique values across custom segments (segA + segB + segC) dynamic custom No

The values passed through the Nielsen keys will determine the breakouts that are seen in reporting. The custom segments (A, B & C) will roll into the sub-brand. To not use custom segments A, B and C, do not pass any value in these keys.

Aggregation Limits There are limits on the number of unique values that can be aggregated on in reporting. The specific limitations by key are:

Key Aggregation Limit
section maximum of 25 unique values (section <= 25)
segA Maximum number of unique values allowed across segA, segB, and segC is 25 (segA + segB + segC<= 25)
segB Maximum number of unique values allowed across segA, segB, and segC is 25 (segA + segB + segC<= 25)
segC Maximum number of unique values allowed across segA, segB, and segC is 25 (segA + segB + segC<= 25)

Example Static Object

        let staticData =
            [
                "type": "static",
                "section": "Section Name",
                "segA": "segmentA",
                "segB": "segmentB",
                "segC": "en-us"
        ]

Life cycle of SDK instance

The Life cycle of SDK instance includes four general states:

  1. Initial state – The SDK is not initialized and hence, not ready to process playing information. Once the SDK is moved out of this state, it needs instantiation of the new SDK instance in order to get the instance in the Initial state.
  2. Idle state – The SDK is initialized and is ready to process playing information. Once Initialized, the SDK instance is not processing any data, but is listening for the play event to occur.
  3. Processing state – The SDK instance is processing playing information. API calls "play" and "loadMetadata" move the SDK instance into this state. In this state, the SDK instance will be able to process the API calls (see below)
  4. Disabled state – The SDK instance is disabled and is not processing playing information. SDK instance moves into this state in one of the following scenarios.
    1. Initialization fails
    2. appDisableApi is called
@property (assign) BOOL appDisableApi;

APP SDK Error & Event Codes

To view the Error and Event codes for iOS, please review the App SDK Event Code Reference page.

Configure API Calls

Sample API Sequence

A Sample API sequence could follow this flow:

Type Sample code Description
On App Start 
NielsenInit.createMainBrandApi(delegate: self)
self.data = loadStaticMetadata()
self.nielsenMeter .loadMetadata(self.data)
// Pass Static Metadata here if applicable
Start of stream nielsenMeter.play() // Call at start of each new stream
nielsenMeter.loadMetadata(contentMetadata) // MetadataObject contains the JSON metadata
for the content being played
Content nielsenMeter.playheadPosition(pos); // playheadPosition is position of the playhead
while the content is being played
End of Stream nielsenMeter.end() // Content playback is completed.

SDK Events

Event Parameter Description
'play' Call at start of each new stream
'loadMetadata' content/ad metadata object Needs to be called at the beginning of each asset
'playheadPosition' playhead position as integer

VOD: current position in seconds
Live: current UNIX timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC)
Note: 'PlayheadPosition' has to be called every second

Pass playhead position every second during playback

'stop' playhead position Call during any interruption to content or Ad playback and at the end of each Ad.
'end' playhead position in seconds Call when the current video asset completes playback and pass the playhead position.

Example: At the end of the content stream, if the user switches to another piece of content, when the browser is refreshed or closed.

Note: For livestream, send the UNIX timestamp, for VOD send the time in seconds as integer. The final playhead position must be sent for the current asset being played before calling stop, end or loadmetadata,.

Life cycle of SDK instance

Life cycle of SDK instance includes four general states:

  1. Initial state – The SDK is not initialized and hence, not ready to process playing information. Once the SDK is moved out of this state, it needs instantiation of the new SDK instance in order to get the instance in the Idle state.
  2. Idle state – The SDK is initialized and is ready to process playing information. Once Initialized, the SDK instance is not processing any data, but is listening for an event to occur.
  3. Processing state – The SDK instance is processing playing information. The play and loadMetadata calls move the SDK instance into this state. In this state, the SDK instance will be able to process the following calls.
    1. playheadPosition – Call this API every one second when playhead position is active. If a LIVE event, use the current UNIX timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC).
    2. stop – Call this API when the content or Ad playback is interrupted and at the end of each Ad.
    3. end – Call when content completes. When called, the SDK instance exits from Processing state.
  4. Disabled state – The SDK instance is disabled and is not processing playing information.
    1. appDisableApi is set to true

Note: For API Version 5.1 and above, App SDK will fire data pings and continue measurement even after the user has opted out from Nielsen measurement on a device. The data ping will be marked as opted-out ping.

Note: In case of any interruptions during playback due to alarm, calendar, call, flight mode, Wi-Fi toggle, channel change, etc., call stop to stop the measurement.

  • As soon as the playback resumes, call loadMetadata and playheadPosition

API Call Sequence

Use Case 1: Content has no Advertisements

Call play() at start of stream

Call loadMetadata() with JSON metadata for content as below. 

{
  "type": "content",
  "assetid": "vid345-67483",
  "program": "ProgramName",
  "title": "Program S3, EP1",
  "length": "3600",
  ...
}

Call playheadPosition() every one second until a pause / stop. Use the sample API sequence below as a reference to identify the specific events that need to be called during content playback without ads.

Type Sample code Description
Start of stream mAppSdk.play(); // Call at start of each new stream
mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject); // contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Content mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
Interruption mAppSdk.stop(); // call stop when content playback is interrupted
Resume Content mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject); // Call loadMetadata and pass content metadata object when content resumes
mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition); // continue pasing playhead position every second starting from position where content is resumed
End of Stream mAppSdk.end(); // Content playback is completed.

Use Case 2: Content has Advertisements

Call play() at start of stream

Call loadMetadata() with JSON metadata for ad as below. 

{
   "type": "preroll",
   "assetid": "ad123"
}

Note: In case the individual ad details are not available, send ad pod (presence) details through the loadMetadata and playhead position through playheadPosition.

Call playheadPosition() every one second until a pause / stop / another loadMetadata() is called. Playhead should be passed for the entire duration of ad pod, if the ad pod details are passed as part of loadMetadata().

The sample API sequence can be used as a reference to identify the specific events that need to be called during content and ad playback.

Type Sample code Description
Start of stream mAppSdk.play(); // stream starts
mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject); // contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Preroll mAppSdk.loadMetadata(prerollMetadataObject); // prerollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the preroll ad
mAppSdk.playheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the preroll ad is being played
mAppSdk.stop(); // Call stop after preroll occurs
Content mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject); // contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
mAppSdk.playheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
Midroll mAppSdk.loadMetadata(midrollMetaDataObject); // midrollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the midroll ad
mAppSdk.playheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the midroll ad is being played
mAppSdk.stop(); // Call stop after midroll occurs
Content Resumes mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject); // contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
mAppSdk.playheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
End of Stream mAppSdk.end(); // Call end() at the end of content
Postroll mAppSdk.loadMetadata(postrollMetaDataObject); // postrollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the postroll ad
mAppSdk.playheadPosition(playheadPosition); // position is position of the playhead while the postroll ad is being played
mAppSdk.stop(); // Call stop after postroll occurs

Note: Each Ad playhead should begin from 0 at ad start. When content has resumed following an ad break, playhead position must continue from where previous content segment was left off.

Sequence of Calls

play

Call play at the start of each new stream. If changing videos or watching a new video, call play() each time.

Objective C

   [nielsenAppApi play:()];

Swift 

nielsenAppApi?.play();

loadMetadata

Objective C 

[nielsenApi loadMetadata:(contentMetadata)];

Swift 

self.nielsenAppApi?.loadMetadata(contentMetadata)

playheadPosition

Objective C 

-(void) setPlayHeadPosition {
    
    //Setting play head position
    CMTime timeInterval = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(1, 1);
    [player addPeriodicTimeObserverForInterval:(timeInterval) queue:dispatch_get_main_queue() usingBlock:^(CMTime time){
        NSTimeInterval seconds = CMTimeGetSeconds(time);
        NSInteger intSec = seconds;
        
        //Sending data dictionary to SDK with updated playHead position.
        [nielsenApi playheadPosition:(intSec)];
    }];
}

Swift 

        //Monitor the Playhead position of the AVPlayer
        let timeInterval: CMTime = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(1.0,10)
        self.avPlayerViewController.player?.addPeriodicTimeObserver(forInterval: timeInterval, queue: DispatchQueue.main) {(elapsedTime: CMTime) -> Void in
            if self.avPlayerViewController.player!.currentItem?.status == .readyToPlay {
                let time : Float64 = self.avPlayerViewController.player!.currentTime().seconds;
                let pos = Int64(time);
                NSLog("New Elapse Time = \(time)");
                self.nielsenAppApi?.playheadPosition(pos);
            }
        }
    }

stop

Objective C 

[nielsenApi stop];

Swift 

nielsenApi.stop()

end

When content stop is initiated and content cannot be resumed from the same position (it can only be restarted from the beginning of stream).

Objective C 

[nielsenApi end];

Swift 

nielsenApi.end()

Handling Foreground and Background states

For iOS, background/foreground detection is handled by the app lifecylce APIs which are provided by Apple:

Foreground/Background state measurement is a requirement of Nielsen AppSDK implementation which is especially crucial for static measurement.

Interruptions during playback

As part of integrating Nielsen App SDK with the player application, the Audio / Video app developer needs to handle the following possible interruption scenarios:

  • Pause / Play
  • Network Loss (Wi-Fi / Airplane / Cellular)
  • Call Interrupt (SIM or Third party Skype / Hangout call)
  • Alarm Interrupt
  • Content Buffering
  • Device Lock / Unlock
  • App going in the Background/Foreground
  • Channel / Station Change Scenario
  • Unplugging of headphone

In case of encountering one of the above interruptions, the player application needs to

  • Call stop immediately (except when content is buffering) and withhold sending playhead position.
  • Start sending API calls – 'loadMetadata' and 'playheadPosition' for the new viewing session, once the playback resumes.

Please see the Interruption Scenarios Page for more details

Using the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

There could be a scenario in which a browser page, that is already tagged with the Nielsen BSDK, needs to be loaded via a webview. In this situation it is recommended to use the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler which will allow communication between the AppSDK and the BSDK.

This feature is supported in versions 7.2 and above.

Implementation

  • Make sure you have the latest NielsenAppApi.framework from Nielsen containing the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler class.
  • Add NielsenAppSDKJSHandler instance as web view message handler object conforming to WKScriptMessageHandler protocol with name: "NielsenSDKMsg".


Objective-C: 

self.jsAppSDK = [[NielsenAppSDKJSHandler alloc] init];
[self.webView.configuration.userContentController addScriptMessageHandler:self.jsAppSDK name:@"NielsenSDKMsg"];


Swift: 

self.jsAppSDK=NielsenAppSDKJSHandler(apiType: "ggPM")
if let jsAppSDK = self.jsAppSDK{
   self.webView?.configuration.userContentController.add(jsAppSDK, name: "NielsenSDKMsg")


This will enable listening to BSDK api calls within the APPSDK. Please make sure your Technical Account Manager is aware that you wish to implement this method so a configuration file can be modified on the Nielsen servers; however, there are no changes required to the Browser page.

Example:

The below is an example of opening a webview with the NielsenApp[SDKJSHandler using Swift 5.0 

  let jsFunctionNativeMessage = "NielsenSDKMsg"
  var jsAppSDK: NielsenAppSDKJSHandler?
    
    override func loadView() {
        webView = WKWebView()
        webView.navigationDelegate = self
        view = webView
    }
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        let url = URL(string: "https://nielsen.com/index.htm")!
        self.jsAppSDK=NielsenAppSDKJSHandler(apiType: "ggPM")
        if let jsAppSDK = self.jsAppSDK{
            self.webView?.configuration.userContentController.add(jsAppSDK, name: "NielsenSDKMsg")
            webView.load(URLRequest(url: url))
            webView.allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures = true
        }
}
    deinit {
        if let webView = self.webView {
            webView.configuration.userContentController.removeScriptMessageHandler(forName: jsFunctionNativeMessage)
        }
        self.jsAppSDK = nil
        if let webView = self.webView {
            webView.removeFromSuperview()
        }
        self.webView = nil
    }
}


Please note: The page you load into the webview cannot have mixed protocol content. For example, if your page is https:// you cannot have any images on the page as http:// or you will encounter errors.

Pre-Certification Checklists

After the application is ready to be sent for Nielsen Certification, please go through the Digital Pre-Certification Checklist App SDK and ensure the app behaves as expected, before submitting to Nielsen.

Privacy and Opt-Out

There are currently 3 flavors of the Nielsen SDK. Please check the "Implementation" section for a comparison of the three flavors. Implementing opt-out for the three flavors are different:

  1. Global iOS SDK Opt-out - managed by AppTracking or Limit Ad Tracking setting on device.
  2. Global iOS SDK No Ad Framework Opt-out - Direct call to SDK. Can be used without the Ad Framework.
  3. Global iOS SDK No ID Opt-out - Direct call to SDK. Should be used for Kids Category.

Global iOS SDK Opt-out

OS-level Opt-out method available on Nielsen iOS

The Nielsen SDK automatically leverages the iOS's Limit Ad Tracking or AppTracking setting.

  • If the User's device is running < iOS 13.x, the Nielsen SDK will check the status of Limit Ad Tracking.
  • iOS14 modifies the way Apple manages the collection of a User's Opt-In status through AppTracking. Starting with Version 8.x+, the Nielsen App SDK will check the iOS version during initialization. If the device is running iOS12 or iOS13, the Limit Ad Tracking setting is requested. If iOS14.x +, then AppTracking is utilized.

Webview Element

It is a requirement to display a WebView element whose loadUrl is set to the value obtained from optOutURL. If using the Global iOS SDK, this optOutURL informs the user how to deactivate/activate “App Tracking/Limit Ad Tracking”.


If you are implementing on AppleTV here are your Opt Out verbiage options : https://engineeringportal.nielsen.com/docs/DCR_Video_%26_Static_CTV_Device_SDK_Privacy

Sample Code for Global Build

Swift
import UIKit
import WebKit
import NielsenAppApi

class OptOutVC: UIViewController, NielsenAppApiDelegate, WKNavigationDelegate {
    var nielsenApi : NielsenAppApi!
    var webView: WKWebView!
   
    override func loadView() {
        webView = WKWebView()
        webView.navigationDelegate = self
        view = webView
    }

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

    if let appApi = self.nielsenApi {
            //Getting the optPut URL from SDK
            if let url = URL(string: appApi.optOutURL) {
                webView.load(URLRequest(url: url))
                webView.allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures = true
            }}}

        func closeOptOutView() {
            self.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
        }}
Objective-C
#import "OptOutVC.h"
#import "NielsenInit.h"
#import <NielsenAppApi/NielsenAppApi.h>

@interface OptOutVC ()

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIWebView *webView;
@end

@implementation OptOutVC

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    //Getting the optPut URL from eventTracker
    [self.webView loadRequest:[NSURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL
 URLWithString:self.nielsenApi.optOutURL]]];
}}

Global iOS SDK No Ad Framework Opt-out

The User Choice method can be used without the Ad Framework, or in situations where the publisher does not wish to use the App Tracking Transparency Framework. As this flavor of the Nielsen SDK does not use the Ad Framework, so it is necessary to display an Optout Page to the user and capture their selection.

Similar to the Global iOS SDK Flavor, it is a requirement to display a WebView element whose loadUrl is set to the value obtained from optOutURL. This is a special URL that indicates Opt-in, or Opt-out and close the WebView. The steps are as follows:

  • Get the Nielsen opt-out URL via optOutURL
  • Display a WebView element whose loadUrl is set to the value obtained from optOutURL
  • Detect if the WebView URL changes to a special URL that indicates Opt-in, or Opt-out and close the WebView
    • Opt-out if the WebView URL = nielsenappsdk://1
    • Opt-in if the WebView URL = nielsenappsdk://0
  • Pass the detected URL to the userOptOut function
    • Example: 
      NielsenAppApi?.userOptOut("nielsenappsdk://1"); // User opt-out

Sample code for No Ad Framework Build

Swift
import UIKit
import WebKit
import NielsenAppApi

class OptOutVC: UIViewController, NielsenAppApiDelegate, WKNavigationDelegate {
    var nielsenApi : NielsenAppApi!
    var webView: WKWebView!
   
    override func loadView() {
        webView = WKWebView()
        webView.navigationDelegate = self
        view = webView
    }

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        if let appApi = self.nielsenApi {
            //Getting the optPut URL from SDK
            if let url = URL(string: appApi.optOutURL) {
                webView.load(URLRequest(url: url))
                webView.allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures = true
            }}}

        func closeOptOutView() {
            self.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
        }

        func webView(_ webView: WKWebView, decidePolicyFor navigationAction: WKNavigationAction, decisionHandler: 
@escaping (WKNavigationActionPolicy) -> Void) {
            print(navigationAction.request.url?.absoluteString as Any) //For debugging to check what is being passed from webpage.
            if navigationAction.request.url?.absoluteString == "nielsen://close" {
                closeOptOutView()
                decisionHandler(.cancel)
            } else {
                if let url = navigationAction.request.url?.absoluteString, url.hasPrefix("nielsen") {
                    nielsenApi?.userOptOut(url). //either nielsenappsdk://1 or nielsenappsdk://0
                    decisionHandler(.cancel)
                } else {
                    if navigationAction.navigationType == .linkActivated {
                        if let url = navigationAction.request.url?.absoluteString, url.hasSuffix("#") {
                            decisionHandler(.allow)
                        } else {
                            decisionHandler(.cancel)
                            webView.load(navigationAction.request)
                        }
                    } else {
                        decisionHandler(.allow)
                    }}}}

}
Objective-C
#import "OptOutVC.h"
#import "NielsenInit.h"
#import <NielsenAppApi/NielsenAppApi.h>

@interface OptOutVC ()

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIWebView *webView;
@end

@implementation OptOutVC

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    //Getting the optPut URL from eventTracker
    [self.webView loadRequest:[NSURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL
 URLWithString:self.nielsenApi.optOutURL]]];
}
     
- (void)webView:(WKWebView *)webView decidePolicyForNavigationAction:(WKNavigationAction *)navigationAction
 decisionHandler:(void (^)(WKNavigationActionPolicy))decisionHandler
{
    if ([navigationAction.request.URL.absoluteString isEqualToString:kNielsenWebClose])
    {   [self performSelector:@selector(closeOptOutView) withObject:nil afterDelay:0];
        decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyCancel); 
     } else {
        if ([navigationAction.request.URL.absoluteString hasPrefix:@"nielsen"])
        {[self.nielsenAppApi userOptOut:navigationAction.request.URL.absoluteString];
            decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyCancel); 
        } else {
            if (navigationAction.navigationType == WKNavigationTypeLinkActivated) 
            { if ([navigationAction.request.URL.absoluteString hasSuffix:@"#"]) 
                      {decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyAllow);
                } else {
                    decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyCancel);
                    [webView loadRequest:[NSURLRequest requestWithURL:navigationAction.request.URL]];
                }} else {
                 decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyAllow);
            }}}
}


Global iOS SDK No ID Opt-out

If you are building an app that will be listed in the Kids Category:

  1. Ensure that you are using the NoID version of the Nielsen SDK Framework.
  2. Immediately following the initialization of the Nielsen SDK ensure you call the userOptOut API with Opt out selection:
NielsenAppApi?.userOptOut("nielsenappsdk://1"); // User opt-out

Retrieve current Opt-Out preference

Whether the user is opted out via OS-level Opt-out or via User Choice Opt-out, the current Opt-Out status as detected by the SDK is available via the optOutStatus property in the Nielsen SDK API 

@property (readonly) BOOL optOutStatus


Going Live

Following Nielsen testing, you will need to:

  1. Disable Debug Logging: Disable logging by deleting {nol_devDebug: 'DEBUG'} from initialization call.
  2. Notify Nielsen: Once you are ready to go live, let us know so we can enable you for reporting. We will not be able to collect or report data prior to receiving notification from you.

Removing Simulators (Dynamic Framework Only)

Simulator slices are needed to let clients build and debug their app on the simulators, but they should be removed before sending the app to the AppStore. Here is an example Shell script that could be added as a Run Script phase in the application. 


APP_PATH="${TARGET_BUILD_DIR}/${WRAPPER_NAME}"

# This script loops through the frameworks embedded in the application and
# removes unused architectures.
find "$APP_PATH" -name '*.framework' -type d | while read -r FRAMEWORK
do
FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME=$(defaults read "$FRAMEWORK/Info.plist" CFBundleExecutable)
FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH="$FRAMEWORK/$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME"
echo "Executable is $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"

EXTRACTED_ARCHS=()

for ARCH in $ARCHS
do
echo "Extracting $ARCH from $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME"
lipo -extract "$ARCH" "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH"
EXTRACTED_ARCHS+=("$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH")
done

echo "Merging extracted architectures: ${ARCHS}"
lipo -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged" -create "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}"
rm "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}"

echo "Replacing original executable with thinned version"
rm "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"
mv "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged" "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"

done

Sample Applications

The below sample applications have been designed to show the Simplified API's functionality and are broken into two distinct categories:

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