Crashlytics

Crashlytics is a software brand focused on collecting, organizing, analyzing, and prioritizing crash reports and application errors. It was founded in Boston in 2011 by Wayne Chang and Jeff Seibert and initially built a software development kit for mobile developers who needed faster visibility into failures occurring on users’ devices. The product supported crash reporting, application logging, statistical analysis, and related diagnostic workflows across major mobile platforms. The company emerged during a period when mobile application teams were moving from small release cycles to large-scale distribution across many device configurations. Crashlytics differentiated itself by providing automated reports that grouped similar failures, identified affected versions and devices, and helped developers focus on the issues having the greatest user impact. Its technology was designed for iOS and Android and later expanded to Unity and other application environments. The platform became particularly useful to teams that could not reproduce every failure locally because it gathered diagnostic information from production applications. Crashlytics raised early venture funding from Flybridge Capital Partners, Baseline Ventures, and angel investors. In 2012, it broadened its scope through the acquisition of FireTower.app, a Boston-based tool for detecting JavaScript errors, and released SecureUDID as an open-source response to Apple’s move away from the device-level UDID identifier. These efforts reflected the company’s interest in application diagnostics and developer infrastructure beyond a single crash-reporting feature. Twitter acquired Crashlytics in January 2013 in a transaction reported at more than $100 million. Under Twitter, the technology became the foundation for a broader mobile developer platform. Crashlytics added Android support, native Android reporting, Unity support, Apple tvOS support, beta distribution, and mobile analytics. In 2014, Twitter introduced Fabric, a modular software development platform built around Crashlytics. Fabric allowed developers to select individual services, including crash reporting, beta distribution, analytics, identity, and Twitter-related capabilities, while retaining a common installation and integration model. The associated Answers product provided mobile analytics. Fabric expanded the reach of Crashlytics and related services across a substantial mobile-device footprint. Third-party industry measurements cited in contemporary reporting ranked Crashlytics among the most widely adopted crash-reporting and mobile-analytics software development kits, particularly among leading iOS applications. The platform was used by developers across consumer applications, commerce, transportation, media, and social products. Google announced an agreement to acquire Crashlytics and Fabric in January 2017. The products were subsequently aligned with Firebase, Google’s mobile and web application development platform. Google later directed Fabric users toward Firebase services. In 2019, the Fabric team announced that Fabric would be retired on March 31, 2020, while Crashlytics and related capabilities would continue within Firebase. The current product is generally presented as Firebase Crashlytics, offering crash reports, non-fatal error monitoring, stability metrics, issue prioritization, alerts, and integrations with the wider Firebase development environment. Thus, Crashlytics is best understood today as a continuing product brand and technology lineage inside Firebase rather than as an independent company.

Crashlytics was established in 2011 by Wayne Chang and Jeff Seibert as a Boston-based software company serving mobile application developers. Its core product was an SDK that captured crash reports and application logs, organized related failures, and supplied diagnostic information for analysis. The company raised an initial $1 million from Flybridge Capital Partners, Baseline Ventures, and individual investors, followed by an additional $5 million round in April 2012. The early product developed in response to the operational difficulty of maintaining applications across rapidly expanding mobile ecosystems. In 2012, as Apple began deprecating the UDID identifier amid privacy concerns, Crashlytics created SecureUDID, an open-source alternative intended to provide a less problematic identifier mechanism. The company also acquired FireTower.app in June 2012 to extend its error-detection interests toward JavaScript and the mobile web. Crashlytics received recognition from the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange during this period. Twitter announced its acquisition of Crashlytics in January 2013, roughly a year after the product’s launch. Contemporary reports placed the transaction above $100 million. Twitter used Crashlytics as a foundation for expanding its mobile developer presence and made certain enterprise capabilities available more broadly. Crashlytics added Android support in 2013, followed by beta distribution through Beta by Crashlytics in 2014, native Android support in 2015, Unity support later in 2015, and tvOS support in December 2015. In October 2014, Twitter and Crashlytics introduced Fabric, a modular SDK platform. Fabric grouped Crashlytics with services for mobile analytics, beta testing, identity, authentication, and Twitter-related functionality. Its modular architecture allowed developers to adopt selected components while using a common integration layer. Answers, the analytics component associated with Crashlytics, supplied usage and engagement information alongside stability data. Fabric was also distributed through a mobile application introduced in 2016. Third-party measurement reports cited in the period placed Crashlytics among the leading crash-reporting SDKs by adoption. By the end of 2016, reporting described Fabric as serving more than two billion active devices and processing hundreds of billions of application sessions each month. These figures were reported in contemporary industry materials and are not current operating metrics. Google announced in January 2017 that it had agreed to acquire Crashlytics, Fabric, and related products. The acquisition brought the technology into Google’s Firebase organization. Google subsequently shifted developers from Fabric toward Firebase, announcing in 2018 and 2019 that Fabric would be deprecated and ultimately shut down. Fabric services, including the Crashlytics technology, were migrated into Firebase, with the standalone Fabric product scheduled to end on March 31, 2020. Crashlytics continues as Firebase Crashlytics. Its modern role is to provide crash and non-fatal error reporting, issue grouping and prioritization, stability monitoring, alerts, and diagnostic context for mobile applications. The product supports the broader Firebase workflow and remains aimed at development teams that need production telemetry to identify, reproduce, prioritize, and resolve application reliability problems.

1. 2020Fabric shutdown

   Fabric was retired, with Crashlytics functionality continuing under Firebase.

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2. 2017Google acquisition announced

   Google announced its agreement to acquire Crashlytics and Fabric for integration with Firebase.

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3. 2015Unity and native Android support expanded

   Crashlytics added native Android reporting and support for Unity-based applications.

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4. 2014Fabric introduced

   Crashlytics and Twitter launched Fabric as a modular platform for mobile development services.

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5. 2013Twitter acquisition completed

   Twitter acquired Crashlytics in a deal reported at more than $100 million.

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6. 2012FireTower.app acquired

   Crashlytics acquired FireTower.app to expand from mobile crash reporting toward JavaScript and mobile-web error detection.

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7. 2012SecureUDID released

   The company released SecureUDID as an open-source response to Apple’s deprecation of UDID.

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8. 2011Crashlytics founded

   Wayne Chang and Jeff Seibert founded Crashlytics as a mobile application crash-reporting company.

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Developer-focused application stability and crash-monitoring infrastructure integrated with the Firebase platform.

• Crashlytics SDKCrash reporting and application diagnostics2011

  The original Crashlytics software development kit collected crash reports and application logs from production mobile applications. It helped developers group related failures, inspect affected devices and application versions, and prioritize problems according to their practical impact. The SDK supported iOS and Android and later extended to environments including Unity and Apple tvOS. Its technology lineage now forms the basis of Firebase Crashlytics.

• Firebase CrashlyticsApplication stability monitoring2017

  Firebase Crashlytics is the current Firebase-hosted form of the Crashlytics product. It provides reporting for crashes and non-fatal errors, issue organization, stability indicators, alerts, and diagnostic context. It is integrated with Firebase’s broader application development and monitoring environment and is intended for teams operating mobile applications at production scale.

• FabricMobile developer platform2014

  Fabric was a modular mobile development platform introduced under Twitter. It combined Crashlytics with services for beta distribution, analytics, identity, authentication, and Twitter integrations. The platform expanded Crashlytics from a focused reliability product into a broader developer suite, but was later deprecated and migrated into Firebase.

• Answers by CrashlyticsMobile analytics

  Answers was the mobile analytics service associated with Crashlytics and Fabric. It complemented crash data with information about application usage and sessions, enabling developers to consider stability problems alongside user behavior and product engagement.

• Beta by CrashlyticsBeta distribution2014

  Beta by Crashlytics was a mobile application distribution service that helped development teams deliver pre-release builds to testers. It extended the brand beyond diagnostics into release validation and formed part of the wider Fabric product portfolio.

• 2019Migration from Fabric to FirebaseStrategy

  Google had chosen to consolidate the acquired mobile developer services within Firebase.

  What changed. The Fabric team announced that Fabric would be retired on March 31, 2020 and directed developers toward Firebase services.

  Aftermath. Crashlytics survived as a Firebase product, while the standalone Fabric platform ended.

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• 2017Google acquisition and Firebase integrationM&A

  Google was strengthening Firebase as an integrated environment for mobile and web application development.

  What changed. Google agreed to acquire Crashlytics, Fabric, and associated products and incorporated the technology into Firebase.

  Aftermath. Crashlytics continued as Firebase Crashlytics, while Fabric was later deprecated.

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• 2014Fabric platform launchProduct launch

  Crashlytics had a large developer footprint that could support distribution of additional Twitter mobile services.

  What changed. Twitter and Crashlytics launched Fabric as a modular platform combining crash reporting with analytics, beta distribution, identity, and other tools.

  Aftermath. Fabric became the principal product structure through which Crashlytics expanded its mobile developer ecosystem.

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• 2013Twitter acquisitionM&A

  Twitter was expanding its mobile developer ecosystem and sought a widely adopted reliability product.

  What changed. Twitter acquired Crashlytics in a transaction reported at more than $100 million.

  Aftermath. Crashlytics became a foundation for Twitter’s Fabric developer platform and related mobile services.

  Reported acquisition value. More than $100 million (January 2013)

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• 2012Release of SecureUDIDStrategy

  Apple’s move to deprecate UDID created a need for alternative application identifiers and raised privacy concerns around device tracking.

  What changed. Crashlytics built and released SecureUDID as an open-source alternative.

  Aftermath. The initiative broadened Crashlytics’ developer-infrastructure role beyond crash reporting.

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• 2012FireTower.app acquisitionM&A

  Crashlytics sought to extend its diagnostics capabilities beyond native mobile applications.

  What changed. The company acquired FireTower.app, a tool for detecting JavaScript errors.

  Aftermath. The acquisition supported an expansion toward mobile-web and JavaScript error monitoring.

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• 2019Fabric retirement and migration to Firebase announced

  The Fabric team announced that Fabric would shut down on March 31, 2020, while Crashlytics capabilities would continue through Firebase.

  Product generation
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• 2017Google agreed to acquire Crashlytics and Fabric

  Google announced an agreement to acquire Crashlytics, Fabric, and related products for integration into Firebase.

  M&A
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• 2014Crashlytics introduced Fabric

  Fabric expanded Crashlytics into a modular mobile development platform incorporating analytics, beta distribution, identity, and other developer services.

  Product launch
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• 2013Twitter acquired Crashlytics

  Twitter acquired Crashlytics in a transaction reported at more than $100 million, making the startup part of Twitter’s mobile developer strategy.

  M&A
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1. Crashlytics
2. Firebase Crashlytics