As apps interact with users, they generate data. This is the data apps usually require to save or access in order to function properly and offer the best user experience. This data can i loved this include personal settings including media, as well as other documents. It can be used to track clicks, product purchases and other conversions within the app. There are a variety of ways to gather this information such as asking the user to provide it, determining it from on-site behaviour or buying it from a third-party. The ideal customer data should be centrally stored and in a standard format to facilitate integration and exchange between applications. There are emerging standards for the profile of customer data according to industry sectors that can help define the data models that are to be used.
There are a variety of ways to store data and the system used in an application will affect the way the user interface looks. The most common is file storage, where the data is stored as folders and files that are arranged in an order. Hard disk drives as well as cloud storage like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive utilize this method. Block storage is a different method that divides data up into blocks and placed anywhere in the storage infrastructure. They are identified using identifiers that make them easy to locate and act upon.
Early systems included tools that gave specific information about the properties of the storage medium in textual format. Modern systems, such as Android provide visualisations for these functions, such as capacity/usage and lifetime. Capacity/usage visualizations are usually presented as horizontal stacked bar charts, whereas lifespan is represented by a circular pie chart or variants such as doughnut charts.