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I'm developing an Android game with the idea of publishing it, and I wonder what info should I put in the "About" dialog that many main menus have.

The idea is to make bug report and debugging easier. Users can click in the "About" box and read the details of their device, and include them in any bug report they send me - I know Google sends relevant device data to the developer when there's a crash, but I'm thinking in bugs that not necessarily end with an abnormal program termination.

So far, I've added API number of device, screen size, screen density, and number of processors.

My current "About" screen is something like this:

Game title
Game icon
API version
Screen size
Screen density
Number of processors (just in case, because game uses threading)
Game version number
Developer e-mail
Copyright information

If anyone has experience publishing and maintaining an app, specially in Android, I want to know what can I add there to make user reporting and debugging easier.

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Diagnostic information (whether or not you put it in the About box or somewhere else) is largely up to you and your ability to process it. You should include diagnostics information that you know can help you track down issues.

Basic hardware statistics about the machine (RAM, GPU type, CPU speed), for example, are probably something you'd know how to figure into your calculations for a particular problem a user is reporting.

The color of the LED running lights in the machine, though? Probably less useful. Including too much information, especially information you don't yourself know what to do with, just creates noise for you to sift through.

Note that you should be careful including anything that could be considered "personally identifying" in your reports. There could be legal issues involved in doing so, and even when you're in the clear users may find it offensive unless you're very clear about what you are collecting, when you actually send it back to yourself, and why you're doing it.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ To clarify, I'm not collecting any data. Info is just displayed in app, in the user's device. It's up to them if they want to include that info in any report they send me. And I'm not even talking about automatic reports, just users writing down that info (if they want) in any bug reporting e-mail. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rodia
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 17:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ I figured as much, but sometimes if users even see that the program knows (for example) their name, or whatever, they get antsy about it. Even if you never actually transmit it anywhere. Also I figured somebody else may come across this question who is interested in actively transmitting some of this info back home, so I tried to be general. \$\endgroup\$
    – user1430
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 17:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ The RAM idea is good, and I've seen it in some "About" boxes before. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rodia
    Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 17:38

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