Tracking Downloads

Monitor download activity, analyze customer behavior, and gain insights into your digital product delivery performance.

Download Tracking Overview

The app automatically tracks all download activity:

Tracked data:

📊 Download count per order
📅 Download timestamp
🌐 Customer IP address
💻 Device/browser information
📁 Files downloaded
✅ Success/failure status
⏱️ Download duration
🔄 Download attempt count

Accessing Download Logs

View All Downloads

Open Alva Digital Downloads app
Go to Analytics → Download Logs

Download logs table appears

Download Log Columns

Order Number

Example: #1045
Links to order details

Customer

Name: John Smith
Email: john@example.com

File

Filename: ebook-complete.pdf
Size: 15 MB

Date & Time

Example: Jan 15, 2024, 3:42 PM
Timezone: Your shop timezone

IP Address

Example: 192.168.1.1
Location: New York, USA (if available)

Device

Browser: Chrome 120
OS: Windows 11
Device type: Desktop

Status

✅ Success - Download completed
⏳ In Progress - Currently downloading
❌ Failed - Download error

Download #

Example: 3 of 5
Shows which download attempt (if limited)

Filtering & Searching

By Date Range:

Today
Last 7 days
Last 30 days
Last 90 days
Custom date range

By Status:

All
Successful only
Failed only
In progress

By Customer:

Search by name or email

By Order:

Search by order number

By File:

Filter by specific file name

By IP Address:

Search by IP (useful for abuse detection)

Quick Filters

Pre-built filter shortcuts:

Recent Activity:

Downloads in last 24 hours
Downloads today
Downloads this week

Problem Downloads:

Failed downloads
Multiple retries
Slow downloads (>5 minutes)

High Activity:

Orders with 5+ downloads
Same IP multiple orders
Potential abuse cases

Individual Order Download History

View Order-Specific Downloads

Go to Orders → Select order
Scroll to Download History section

Shows:

All download attempts for this order
Chronological timeline
IP addresses used
Device information
Success/failure status

Download History Details

Example history:

Download 1:
Date: Jan 15, 2024, 10:30 AM
IP: 192.168.1.1 (New York, USA)
Device: Chrome on Windows 11
Status: ✅ Success
Duration: 45 seconds

Download 2:
Date: Jan 16, 2024, 3:15 PM
IP: 192.168.1.50 (New York, USA)
Device: Safari on iPhone 14
Status: ✅ Success
Duration: 1 min 23 sec

Download 3:
Date: Jan 17, 2024, 8:00 AM
IP: 10.0.0.1 (London, UK)
Device: Chrome on MacBook
Status: ✅ Success
Duration: 52 seconds

Geographic Tracking

IP-based location:

Downloads automatically geolocated:

Country
Region/State
City (approximate)
ISP

Use cases:

Detect unusual locations (potential sharing)
Understand customer geography
Identify VPN use
Verify legitimate access

Download Analytics

Overall Statistics

Dashboard metrics:

Total Downloads

Example: 1,247 downloads
Time period: Last 30 days

Unique Customers

Example: 523 customers downloaded
Average: 2.4 downloads per customer

Success Rate

Example: 98.5% successful
Failed: 1.5%

Average Downloads per Order

Example: 2.1 downloads
Context: Limit is 5, customers rarely hit limit

Most Downloaded Files

1. product-guide.pdf - 342 downloads
2. template-pack.zip - 298 downloads
3. video-course.mp4 - 187 downloads

Download Trends

View trends over time:

Charts available:

Downloads per day (line chart)
Downloads by hour of day (bar chart)
Downloads by day of week (bar chart)
Geographic distribution (map)
Device type breakdown (pie chart)
Browser distribution (pie chart)

Peak Download Times

Identify busiest periods:

By time of day:

Peak hours:
- 9-11 AM (morning purchases)
- 2-4 PM (afternoon access)
- 8-10 PM (evening convenience)

Low hours:
- 2-6 AM (overnight)

By day of week:

Highest: Monday-Wednesday (start of week)
Moderate: Thursday-Friday
Lower: Saturday-Sunday (weekends)

Use insights for:

CDN capacity planning
Support staffing
System maintenance windows
Marketing timing

File-Specific Analytics

Performance by File

Go to Analytics → Files
View metrics for each file:

Metrics per file:

Total downloads
Unique downloads (unique customers)
Average download time
Success rate
File size
Most common download method (ZIP vs. individual)

Popular Files Report

Sort files by:

Most downloaded
Highest revenue (if tracking)
Best performing (lowest failure rate)
Fastest downloads

Example:

Top 5 Downloaded Files (Last 30 days):

1. Complete-Course-Bundle.zip
   Downloads: 567
   Success rate: 99.2%
   Avg time: 2 min 15 sec

2. Starter-Template-Pack.zip
   Downloads: 423
   Success rate: 98.8%
   Avg time: 45 seconds

3. Advanced-Guide.pdf
   Downloads: 389
   Success rate: 99.5%
   Avg time: 8 seconds

Detecting Unusual Activity

Abuse Patterns

Red flags to watch for:

Multiple IPs, Same Order:

Order #1045:
- Downloaded from 10 different IPs in 24 hours
- Different countries (USA, India, Brazil, etc.)
- Potential link sharing

Rapid Downloads:

Order #1046:
- Downloaded 5 times (limit reached) in 15 minutes
- All from same IP
- Downloading quickly to hit limit before realized

Unusual Locations:

Order #1047:
- Customer: USA billing address
- Downloads: Russia, China, Nigeria
- Likely compromised/shared link

Automated Abuse Alerts

Configure alerts:

Go to Settings → Security → Alerts
Enable abuse detection alerts:

Alert triggers:

[✓] Download limit reached
[✓] 5+ different IPs per order
[✓] Downloads from high-risk countries
[✓] Unusual download velocity

Alert methods:

[✓] Email notification
[✓] Dashboard notification
[ ] SMS (if configured)

Investigating Suspicious Activity

When alert triggered:

Review download history
Check IP locations
Verify customer identity
Contact customer if needed
Take action:
- Disable link if confirmed abuse
- Reset counter if false positive
- Document decision

Customer-Facing Download Tracking

Customer Download History

In customer account:

Customers can see their own download history:

Customer logs in
Goes to Account → Orders
Clicks order

Sees “Your Downloads” section:

You've downloaded 2 of 5 times
Last download: Jan 15, 2024

[Download Again]

Benefits:

Customer awareness of limits
Self-service information
Transparency

Exporting Download Data

Export Download Logs

Generate reports:

Go to Analytics → Download Logs
Click Export button
Select options:

Export format:

CSV (Excel-compatible)
JSON (developer-friendly)
PDF (shareable report)

Date range:

Last 7 days
Last 30 days
Last 90 days
All time
Custom range

Fields to include:

[✓] Order number
[✓] Customer name
[✓] Customer email
[✓] File name
[✓] Download date/time
[✓] IP address
[✓] Device info
[✓] Status
[ ] Internal IDs (advanced)

Click Generate Export
Download file

CSV Format Example

Order,Customer,Email,File,Date,IP,Device,Status,Download#
#1045,John Smith,john@example.com,ebook.pdf,2024-01-15 10:30,192.168.1.1,Chrome/Windows,Success,1
#1045,John Smith,john@example.com,ebook.pdf,2024-01-16 15:22,192.168.1.50,Safari/iPhone,Success,2
#1046,Jane Doe,jane@example.com,course.zip,2024-01-15 11:00,10.0.0.1,Firefox/Mac,Success,1

Use for:

Excel analysis
Custom reporting
Accounting reconciliation
Auditing

Integration with Other Tools

Google Analytics

Track downloads in GA:

Automatically sent events:

Event: download_started
Event: download_completed
Event: download_failed

Parameters:
- order_id
- file_name
- customer_id

Setup:

Add Google Analytics tracking ID in app settings
Events automatically sent
View in GA4 Events report

Custom Webhooks

Send download events to external systems:

Configure webhook:

Endpoint: https://your-system.com/webhooks/downloads
Events: download_completed, download_failed
Payload: JSON with download details

Example payload:

{
  "event": "download_completed",
  "order_number": "1045",
  "customer_email": "john@example.com",
  "file_name": "ebook.pdf",
  "download_count": 2,
  "ip_address": "192.168.1.1",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Use for:

CRM integration
Custom analytics
Marketing automation
Fulfillment tracking

Using Download Data

Improve Customer Experience

Insights from data:

High failure rate on specific file:

Action: Check file integrity, re-upload if corrupted

Slow downloads for large files:

Action: Break into smaller parts, optimize compression

Many downloads from mobile:

Action: Optimize mobile download experience

Low download rate (purchases but no downloads):

Action: Improve email delivery, add reminders

Optimize Product Offerings

Popular files:

Create more similar content
Bundle popular files
Price based on demand

Unpopular files:

Review content quality
Improve marketing
Consider bundling with popular items

Support Optimization

Common support issues:

Pattern: Many "link expired" contacts
Solution: Increase expiry to 90 days

Pattern: "Can't find download" emails
Solution: Improve email subject line, add to Thank You page

Pattern: Limit reached complaints
Solution: Increase from 3 to 5 downloads

Download Tracking Best Practices

1. Review Logs Weekly

Weekly review:

Check for unusual patterns
Identify emerging issues
Respond to abuse quickly
Track success rate

Set calendar reminder: Every Monday morning

2. Monitor Success Rate

Target: 98%+ successful downloads

If below target:

Investigate failed downloads
Check CDN status
Review file integrity
Improve customer instructions

3. Act on Abuse Quickly

When abuse detected:

Disable link within 24 hours
Contact customer for verification
Document incident
Adjust security if pattern

Don’t:

Wait days to respond
Ignore patterns
Over-react to single incidents

4. Use Data for Decisions

Data-driven decisions:

Adjust download limits based on actual usage
Set expiry based on download timing
Optimize file sizes based on download times
Plan CDN capacity based on peak times

5. Respect Privacy

Privacy best practices:

Store only necessary data
Don’t share IP addresses publicly
Anonymize data for analytics
Comply with GDPR/privacy laws
Provide transparency to customers

Troubleshooting Tracking Issues

Issue: Download Not Logged

Possible causes:

Direct CDN access (bypassed app)
Logging service down (rare)
Database issue

Solution:

Verify download actually completed
Check system status
Contact support if persistent

Issue: Incorrect Download Count

Possible causes:

Partial downloads counted
Failed attempts counted
Counter reset manually

Solution:

Check download history details
Verify with customer
Reset counter if incorrect

Issue: Missing IP Information

Possible causes:

VPN/proxy use
Privacy settings
CDN logging issue

Solution:

Normal in some cases (VPN common)
Focus on other indicators (device, timing)
Not always critical

Next Steps

Customer Download Experience - Optimize UX
Troubleshooting Download Issues - Solve problems
Download Security Settings - Configure security

Tracking Downloads

Download Tracking Overview

Accessing Download Logs

View All Downloads

Download Log Columns

Filtering & Searching

Filter Options

Quick Filters

Individual Order Download History

View Order-Specific Downloads

Download History Details

Geographic Tracking

Download Analytics

Overall Statistics

Download Trends

Peak Download Times

File-Specific Analytics

Performance by File

Popular Files Report

Detecting Unusual Activity

Abuse Patterns

Automated Abuse Alerts

Investigating Suspicious Activity

Customer-Facing Download Tracking

Customer Download History

Exporting Download Data

Export Download Logs

CSV Format Example

Integration with Other Tools

Google Analytics

Custom Webhooks

Using Download Data

Improve Customer Experience

Optimize Product Offerings

Support Optimization

Download Tracking Best Practices

1. Review Logs Weekly

2. Monitor Success Rate

3. Act on Abuse Quickly

4. Use Data for Decisions

5. Respect Privacy

Troubleshooting Tracking Issues

Issue: Download Not Logged

Issue: Incorrect Download Count

Issue: Missing IP Information

Next Steps