Tracking Visual‑Level Interactions & Page Load Times in Power BI (iPad App Users)

[Manendra]

Hello Community,

I manage a Power BI report used by 500+ users, most of whom consume it through the official Power BI iPad app (not via an embedded solution).

My end goal is to capture:

1. Which visuals are interacted with most (e.g., clicked, filtered, highlighted).

2. Per‑user page load times, ideally from the end‑user perspective.

3. Region/location of the user when loading the report.

From my research, I understand that:

• The built‑in Usage Metrics in the Power BI Service only track high‑level report/page usage and don’t give visual‑level detail.

• Performance Analyzer in Power BI Desktop only helps during development — not for end‑user telemetry.

• The JavaScript SDK can capture detailed events, but requires Power BI Embedded, which doesn’t apply to the iPad app scenario.

My questions:

1. Is there any supported or creative workaround for capturing visual‑level interactions in reports accessed through the official Power BI iPad app?

2. Is it possible to measure actual page load time per individual user within the mobile app environment?

3. Can we extract user region automatically (either from the Power BI service logs or indirectly) without moving to an embedded delivery model?

4. Has anyone implemented a hybrid approach — keeping most users on the native app but routing a subset through embedded reports to collect detailed telemetry? If yes, how was it structured?

5. Are there third‑party tools, APIs, or service integrations that can bridge the gap and capture this kind of telemetry without replacing the iPad app entirely?

Any guidance, examples, or confirmation that this is (or isn’t) technically feasible in the current ecosystem would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Manendra.

[Shahid12523]

Visual-level interactions (clicks, filters, highlights): Not possible in the Power BI iPad app. Only achievable via Power BI Embedded + JS SDK.

Per-user page load times: Not exposed. You can only approximate via Capacity Metrics (aggregate) + Audit Logs (session activity).

User region: Possible by extracting IP addresses from Audit Logs and running geo-lookup.

Hybrid approach: Yes, some orgs keep most users on the native app and send a subset to Embedded with Application Insights for detailed telemetry.

3rd-party tools: No direct option for iPad app. Works only if you go through Embedded.

In short: only Audit Logs + Capacity Metrics work for native iPad users. For detailed telemetry, you need Embedded.

[Manendra]

Thanks again for all your thoughtful input. Just to clarify—my requirement is to capture report usage and visual-level interactions specifically within the Power BI iPad app. Unfortunately, Embedded solutions aren’t viable in this scenario due to platform constraints.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @Manendra,

Thanks for sharing the clarification. I understand you want this only for the Power BI iPad app and not through Embedded.

Right now, the iPad app does not have any option to track visual-level interactions like which chart was clicked or filtered or to measure per-user load time. The only information you can get is from Usage Metrics (V2), which shows who viewed the report, how many times, and from which region (based on IP).

Other than that, there is no supported way today in the iPad app itself to capture detailed telemetry.

Hope this helps to make it clear.

Best regards,
Harshitha.

[v-hjannapu · Accepted solution]

Hi @Manendra,
Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to @GilbertQ , for those inputs on this thread. 
 

I understand your requirement. Currently, the Power BI iPad app does not have any option to capture visual-level interactions like which chart is clicked or filtered.

The Usage Metrics (V2) report in the Power BI Service can show you which users are opening the report, how often they are using it, and from which region based on IP. But it does not give detailed interaction at visual level or per-user load time.

Performance Analyzer works only inside Power BI Desktop, so it cannot capture load times for end users on mobile. For detailed telemetry such as clicks and load timings, only Power BI Embedded with JavaScript SDK supports that, not the iPad app.

Some customers use a mixed approach most users stay on the app, and a smaller group access the same report through Embedded to collect detailed telemetry. But this requires additional setup.

So in short with the iPad app, you can only rely on Usage Metrics (V2) for high-level details and region. For advanced tracking, Embedded is the only supported method as of now.

Kindly refer to the below documentation links for better understanding:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/consumer/mobile/mobile-app-configuration

Hope this helps if you have any queries we are  happy to assist you further.
Best Regards,
Harshitha.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @Manendra,
I hope the information provided above assists you in resolving the issue. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you and will be happy to help with any further assistance you may need.

Regards,
Harshitha.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @Manendra,
I hope the above details help you fix the issue. If you still have any questions or need more help, feel free to reach out. We are always here to support you.


Regards,
Harshitha.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @Manendra,

I wanted to follow up and see if you have had a chance to review the information that was shared. If you have any additional questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here to assist with any concerns you might have.

Regards,
Harshitha.

[GilbertQ]

Hi @Manendra 

Answers to your questions where I know the answers.

1. As far as I know, this is not possible using the iPad. app.

2. When using the usage metrics report V2 you should be able to get each users interaction and their associated details to know which user was interacting with which report.

3. Yes, using the usage metrics report V2 you will get the ability to see their IP address and the country from where they were originating from.

[Manendra]

Hi @GilbertQ ,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. Your clarification on the limitations of the iPad app and the utility of Usage Metrics V2 is really helpful. I’ll explore the IP-based region tracking further and see how far I can push the granularity within the native app. Appreciate your insights!

[Shahid12523]

Visual-level interactions (clicks, filters, highlights): Not possible in the Power BI iPad app. Only achievable via Power BI Embedded + JS SDK.

Per-user page load times: Not exposed. You can only approximate via Capacity Metrics (aggregate) + Audit Logs (session activity).

User region: Possible by extracting IP addresses from Audit Logs and running geo-lookup.

Hybrid approach: Yes, some orgs keep most users on the native app and send a subset to Embedded with Application Insights for detailed telemetry.

3rd-party tools: No direct option for iPad app. Works only if you go through Embedded.

In short: only Audit Logs + Capacity Metrics work for native iPad users. For detailed telemetry, you need Embedded.