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Understanding cohorts and activations is fundamental to using the Permutive SDK effectively.

Cohorts

Activations

Contextual

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What are Cohorts?

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Cohort Types

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What are Activations?

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Available Activation Types

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Cohorts vs. Activations

In the SDK, access cohorts via currentCohorts and activations via currentActivations. Example: 
User's Cohorts: ["sports_enthusiast", "premium_subscriber", "mobile_user", "frequent_visitor"]

Activations:
  - dfp: ["sports_enthusiast", "premium_subscriber"]  // Only 2 activated for GAM
  - freewheel: ["sports_enthusiast"]                   // Only 1 activated for Freewheel

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Accessing Cohorts and Activations

Get all cohorts the user currently belongs to:
val permutive = (application as MyApplication).permutive
val currentCohorts: List<String> = permutive.currentCohorts

currentCohorts.forEach { cohortId ->
    Log.d("Permutive", "User is in cohort: $cohortId")
}
currentCohorts and currentActivations return snapshot values at the time they’re called. For real-time updates, use TriggersProvider.

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Use Cases

class PersonalizedHomeActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    private val permutive by lazy { (application as MyApplication).permutive }

    private fun personalizeContent() {
        val cohorts = permutive.currentCohorts

        when {
            "premium_subscriber" in cohorts -> showPremiumContent()
            "sports_enthusiast" in cohorts -> showSportsRecommendations()
            "tech_reader" in cohorts -> showTechRecommendations()
            else -> showGeneralContent()
        }
    }
}

class ExperimentalFeatureActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

        val cohorts = permutive.currentCohorts

        // Use cohort membership as feature flag
        val enableNewCheckout = "checkout_experiment_v2" in cohorts

        if (enableNewCheckout) {
            setContentView(R.layout.activity_checkout_v2)
        } else {
            setContentView(R.layout.activity_checkout_v1)
        }
    }
}
Activations are automatically used by our add-on libraries:
// Google Ad Manager (automatic with add-on)
val adRequest = AdManagerAdRequest.Builder()
    .addPermutiveTargeting(permutive)  // Adds activations automatically
    .build()

// AppNexus (automatic with add-on)
adView.addPermutiveTargeting(permutive)  // Adds activations automatically

class AnalyticsHelper(private val permutive: Permutive) {

    fun logUserSegments() {
        val cohorts = permutive.currentCohorts

        // Log to your analytics platform
        Analytics.setUserProperty("permutive_cohorts", cohorts.joinToString(","))
        Analytics.logEvent("cohort_count", mapOf("count" to cohorts.size))
    }

    fun getActivationInfo(): Map<String, Any> {
        val activations = permutive.currentActivations
        return mapOf(
            "gam_cohort_count" to (activations["dfp"]?.size ?: 0),
            "appnexus_cohort_count" to (activations["appnexus_adserver"]?.size ?: 0),
            "has_contextual" to (activations["dfp_contextual"]?.isNotEmpty() ?: false)
        )
    }
}

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Contextual Cohorts in Detail

Contextual cohorts require SDK version 1.10.0+, feature enabled by your CSM, and page/video tracking with URLs. 
// Track a page with URL
val pageTracker = permutive.trackPage(
    title = "Electric Vehicle Buying Guide",
    url = Uri.parse("https://example.com/articles/ev-buying-guide"),
    eventProperties = EventProperties.from(
        "category" to "automotive",
        "subcategory" to "electric_vehicles"
    )
)

// Contextual cohorts appear in activations
val contextualCohorts = permutive.currentActivations["dfp_contextual"].orEmpty()
// ["automotive_ev", "automotive_buying_guides", "sustainability"]

// Used automatically in ad requests
val adRequest = AdManagerAdRequest.Builder()
    .addPermutiveTargeting(permutive)  // Includes contextual cohorts
    .build()

Contextual Data Guide

Complete contextual cohorts documentation

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Deprecated APIs

The SDK previously used integer-based segment IDs. These are now deprecated: 
// Old (Deprecated)
val segments: List<Int> = permutive.currentSegments
val reactions: Map<String, List<Int>> = permutive.currentReactions

// New
val cohorts: List<String> = permutive.currentCohorts
val activations: Map<String, List<String>> = permutive.currentActivations
Classification Model cohorts and contextual cohorts use string identifiers. The new APIs support all cohort types uniformly.

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Troubleshooting

Problem: currentCohorts returns an empty list.Solutions:
  • Wait a few seconds after initialization
  • Track some events and check again
  • Use TriggersProvider for reactive updates
  • Enable debug logging to see sync status
Problem: User is in a cohort but it doesn’t appear in activations.Cause: Not all cohorts are activated for all platforms. This is configured in your Permutive dashboard.Solution: Check your dashboard configuration or contact your Customer Success Manager.
Problem: dfp_contextual activations are empty.Solutions:
  • Verify feature is enabled with your CSM
  • Update to SDK 1.10.0+
  • Ensure you’re using PageTracker with valid URLs
  • Check debug logs for classification errors

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Best Practices

  • Use currentCohorts for one-time checks
  • Use TriggersProvider for reactive updates
  • Check activation keys exist before accessing
  • Handle empty lists gracefully
  • Log cohorts for debugging (in development only)

Triggers Provider

Reactive cohort updates

Contextual Data

Content-based segmentation

Google Ad Manager

GAM integration

Xandr Integration

AppNexus integration