Exclusive Research: Unlocking Reliable Crash Tracking with PLCrashReporter for iOS SDKs

Crash tracking is a vital part of mobile app development, helping developers detect, diagnose, and resolve issues that affect user experience. Let's debunk common myths about crash tracking in SDKs.

Elevating SDK Stability with Advanced Crash Reporting

At Talsec, we are committed to delivering top-tier security SDKs, ensuring both reliability and seamless integration. To further enhance our quality assurance, we explored various crash-tracking solutions and successfully implemented a proof-of-concept (PoC) using PLCrashReporter – a lightweight and efficient crash-reporting framework.

Why Crash Tracking Matters

As our SDK portfolio grows – with offerings like freeRASP, RASP+, and custom client adaptations – ensuring stability across different versions is a top priority. Introducing automated crash tracking empowers us to proactively address issues, minimize downtime, and enhance the overall developer experience.

Beyond stability, security and data privacy are core concerns for both us and our clients. Many third-party crash-tracking services collect and store crash data in ways that may not align with strict security policies. By opting for a custom implementation with PLCrashReporter, we ensure that crash data is handled entirely within our security guidelines, giving clients complete control over how and where their data is stored and transmitted.

Tomáš Skýpala, iOS SDK development team

Evaluating the Market: 3rd-Party Crash-Tracking Solutions

We assessed leading crash-tracking services based on framework size, ease of integration, and self-hosting capabilities. Here’s how they compare:

• Sentry: Robust and open-source, but complex and premium-priced. (Framework size: ~20MB)

• Bugsnag: Slightly lighter but lacks self-hosting. (Framework size: ~10MB)

• Firebase Crashlytics: Closed-source and requires the full Firebase SDK, making it bulky. (Framework size: 100+MB; Oh wow, Google, seriously?)

• Datadog: Primarily server-focused with intricate setup requirements. (Framework size: ~21MB)

While these services offer advanced features, they come with added complexity, costs, and potential privacy concerns. Many do not clearly document how crash reports are stored prior to submission, leaving uncertainty around data security between the moment of a crash and when the report reaches the server.

The Power of PLCrashReporter

To maintain efficiency and independence, we turned to PLCrashReporter – a lightweight, open-source crash-reporting framework for iOS/macOS. Key benefits include:

• Compact footprint (4.2MB framework size)

• Zero operational costs

• Complete control over data collection and reporting

• Open source nature enables secure on-device storage of crash data until transmission, reducing exposure risks

By integrating PLCrashReporter, we ensure that all crash data remains securely stored until it is explicitly sent to the designated endpoint. This provides an additional layer of security rarely addressed in third-party solutions, aligning with the highest standards of data privacy and compliance.

Seamless Integration & Compatibility Insights

We rigorously tested PLCrashReporter alongside common crash-reporting services to ensure compatibility:

• Sentry (8.43.0): Fully compatible, with seamless integration.

• Bugsnag (6.31.0): No issues, though some VPNs may block communication.

• Firebase Crashlytics (11.7.0): Works but logs a non-critical warning.

• Datadog (2.23.0): Conflict due to Datadog’s internal use of PLCrashReporter. A customized approach may resolve this.

Next Steps & Optimization

With our PoC validated, we are now focused on refining the integration by:

1. Ensuring flawless coexistence with third-party crash reporters

2. Optimizing data collection for more actionable privacy-focused crash insights

3. Enhancing security mechanisms for even stronger data protection

Join the Conversation

We’re eager to collaborate with the developer community! If you have expertise in PLCrashReporter implementation, multi-SDK crash management, or advanced analytics integration, we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s build a smarter, more resilient crash-reporting ecosystem – together! Stay tuned for more updates on our progress.