Build a PostHog Stickiness Report
Use stickiness to inspect how often people perform a meaningful action within a defined period. Choose the action and cadence first; more frequent use is not inherently better for a task designed to happen occasionally.
Before you start: Have a validated repeat-value event and an eligible audience. Confirm that the event is not emitted by background refresh or automated processing.
Worked example: For a weekly reporting workflow, inspect the days on which a person shares useful reports. Opening the app every day may be irrelevant if the team’s actual reporting task occurs once a week.
Step-by-step guide
Choose repeat value
In Product analytics, create a new insight and select Stickiness. Choose the event or action that represents repeat value. Document why repetition matters instead of choosing the highest-volume event.
Set the audience
Apply relevant eligibility and internal-user exclusions. Keep the population stable enough that a changing acquisition mix does not dominate the interpretation.
Choose the interval
Set a period that fits expected use and state the cadence explicitly. Avoid evaluating a monthly task through a daily habit expectation.
Read the frequency distribution
Read each bucket as an exact frequency within the selected period, not a cumulative minimum. With a daily interval over seven days, the three-day bucket counts people active on exactly three days, not everyone active at least three days.
Inspect representative users
Click a point on an event- or action-based stickiness chart to inspect the people it represents. Determine whether repetition reflects value, failed attempts or an unusual workflow. Individual-actor drilldown is unavailable for data warehouse table series.
Pair with a decision
Save the report with its definition and compare equivalent periods. Investigate an actionable segment instead of declaring every low-frequency user unhealthy.
Common mistakes
Background events define activity
Passive instrumentation can make use look habitual. Pick deliberate value.
Buckets assumed cumulative
Read the report’s frequency semantics before adding categories together.
Habit forced on occasional tasks
A low frequency may be appropriate. Match interpretation to the product.
Tips
Keep the activity definition next to the chart.
Check whether retries inflate frequency.
Compare the same cadence across periods.
Sources and verification
Based on product documentation checked on 2026-10-24. This is a documentation-based guide, not a hands-on benchmark. Features and availability can change.