Time spent analysis

Amplitude calculates the time spent on an event as the duration between consecutive events of the specified type. To prevent long periods of inactivity from skewing the analysis, Amplitude applies a 30 minute timeout. If no events of the specified type occur within a 30 minute window, Amplitude closes the current time spent window, and begins a new window with the next event.

Feature availability

Time spent analysis, like other custom metrics, is available to accounts on the Growth or Enterprise plan. For more information, see the Amplitude pricing page.

When you specify a group-by property, for example page URL or page type, any change in its value resets the time spent window. This ensures that Amplitude can accurately attribute time spent to the specific value of the group-by property at the beginning of each window.

In the following example, the timeline represents a set of consecutive page views and their associated page types.

Supported event types

Amplitude supports using any event type to define a time spent metric. However, page view events are most commonly used for this analysis. You can define page view events a few ways:

• Primitive page view event: A basic event specifically designed to track page views. For example, the pre-defined [Amplitude] Page View event.

  

• Any active event where Event Name ∈ 'Page View': Some taxonomies define page view at the property level. Use a filter to limit event selection to names that contain page view.

  

• Custom page view event: A combination of primitive events that collectively represent a page view.

  

Use time spent metrics in data tables

Time spent metrics are available in data tables. Use these metrics to gain insight into user behavior like:

Time spent metrics return results in the specified unit of time, for example seconds, minutes, or hours.

Create a time spent metric

To create a new time spent metric:

1. Create a new, or open existing Data Table.
2. Click +Add Event or Metric.
3. Select the Metrics tab in the dialog. Click +Define new Metric.
4. In the Metric Type selection, scroll down to the Time Spent metrics and select the metric you want to use.
5. Optionally apply a filter to the event and select the unit of time.
6. Click Save.