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Enhancement to the data usage tracking for device at an application level

Release Notes


Abstract

A new parameter is added to the Android MDM policy that significantly enhances the data usage tracking on devices by tracking comprehensive data usage logs. A CSV file is generated that gives a detailed data consumption for each app, including the amount of data that is used in megabytes. Users can use any program to open the CSV file such as Excel to gain insights into app data usage that helps them identify applications that consume the most data.
However, the feature doesn't generate a mobile data usage overview report on the Mobile Expense Management Reporting.

Content

Mobile data usage increases when a device is in a roaming state, which results in higher costs. In this scenario, administrators must identify which apps use more data and then optimize data consumption. This insight helps them track the amount of data consumption per app, prevent unnecessary data costs, and improve overall data management. In this release, the Enable app data consumption logging parameter in the Android MDM policy settings helps administrators collect detailed logs that are related to app data usage.

Follow the steps to enable the setting.
  1. From the IBM® MaaS360® home page, go to Security > Policy.
  2. On the policies page, go to any configured policy, and click View.
  3. On the Configure settings tab, go to Device Management.
  4. On the Device Management page, go to Other settings and click Edit.
  5. Select Enable app data consumption logging checkbox and publish the policy.

The device data consumption by apps is tracked and logged with other log collection by the MaaS360® agent automatically. The logs can be extracted when the agent logs are pulled through the Upload actions in the Portal or when the user click Send Logs on the MaaS360® agent. The log file is generated in the .csv format and the data is included in a compressed file called Control_agent_data_usage_logs.csv. The log file contains data for each app per day. The logs are available for the last 60 days from when they were collected.

The log file consists of the following data.
  • Date in YYYY-MM-DD format.
  • The unique UID for the data usage. A UID can correspond to multiple app packages.
  • Type of data usage (MOBILE or WIFI).
  • Package Names: The app package names associated with the UID, separated by semicolons. It will display as Unknown if no app package is associated with a UID.
  • Received Bytes: The number of bytes received.
  • Sent Bytes: The number of bytes sent.

Notes for multiple package names per row

  • UID (user ID) collects the data usage in Android. A user ID usually corresponds to a single app, but if apps share data and processes, they are under a single UID. This behavior is typical of system apps, but it is seen in other cases such as Microsoft Office mobile apps.
  • IBM® MaaS360® cannot separate the app usage per individual app if they are collected under a single UID.
  • If a UID is associated with multiple apps, then the list of apps is displayed in the Package Names column that is separated by semicolons.

Notes for special package name
  1. Unknown: Sometimes, a UID cannot be associated with a package. This scenario occurs for low-level system apps. When a UID is not associated with an app, it displays as Unknown.
Note: The following packages are available from Android version 8.85 and later.
  1. Removed Apps: Data usage from apps that are removed is grouped under Removed Apps. MaaS360® cannot determine what app package name has used the data if the app was removed.
  2. Tethering: Data usage from tethering (connecting another device to this device over wifi to share a mobile network connection) will show under Tethering.
  3. System: Data usage from system components (UIDs 1000 to 1999) is marked as System if no package can be determined.

Notes for CSV Import into Excel

Depending on the computer Locale (for example, Chinese), double-clicking the CSV file might not import it correctly. For an accurate import, follow the procedure.
  1. Open a blank worksheet in Excel.
  2. Go to the Data tab in the toolbar.
  3. Select From Text/CSV.
  4. Select the CSV file.
  5. In the window, select the following options.
    1. File Origin: Unicode UTF-8
    2. Delimiter: Comma
    3. Data Type Detection: Based on first 200 rows.

Sample log file
Sample log file


[{"Type":"MASTER","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB77","label":"Automation Platform"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU048","label":"IBM Software"},"Product":{"code":"SSYSXX","label":"IBM MaaS360"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m0z000000070yAAA","label":"POLICY"}],"ARM Case Number":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"All Versions"}]

Document Information

More support for:
IBM MaaS360

Component:
POLICY

Software version:
All Versions

Document number:
7174194

Modified date:
19 March 2025

UID

ibm17174194

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