Change Starting event of Default Retention chart in Product Analytics

Hi,

disclaimer: i'm noob on Amplitude.

I want to measure the Retention of my game. When I look at the default retention graph and table under Product Analytics/Retention the numbers are much higher.

If i select the open chart to continue exploring button to open the chart in the chart editor view I see that the default Starting Event is set to "Any Active Event". When I change this to be New User then the numbers are in line with what i expect.

It looks like the way the daily cohorts are defined by default don't match what the standard expectation for a retention graph would be. Is there a way for me to change the default graph in the Product Analytics section as i don't want people to be misled.

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Beth Saunders

Hey @andreparodi! Yes, you can absolutely customize this view to a different event. When you're on the Retention report from the Product Analytics space, you should see a "customize" button in the top left. When you click there, you'll see the top option lists "What event represents an active action on your Product?" It defaults to Any Active Event, but you can change it to whatever makes sense for your business. Make sure to save the changes.

If the option to customize is greyed out, then your Amplitude admin will need to update it or upgrade your permissions in order for you to do it.

I hope this helps!

andreparodi

Screenshot 2025-11-07 at 10.45.50.png

Screenshot 2025-11-07 at 10.47.53.png

Hi @Beth Saunders,

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Unfortunately i had already tried this and didn't get any luck. To go over what i'm doing in case i have made a mistake:

Go to left menu Product Analytics/Retention.
Click on Customize and put New User in the "What event represents a new user…". Attached screenshot.
Go to Product Analytics/Retention again.
Click on the "Open as chart to keep on Exploring" button on the top right of the retention chart
Notice how the Start Event is still set to Any Active Event (attached screenshot). The numbers don't match numbers for new users retention.

Am i missing something?

Thanks

Andre

Beth Saunders

Hey @andreparodi, you need to update the setting above that - "What event represents an active action on your Product?" The New User event isn't an option to select here. Do you have something else that defines a new user in your product, such as a sign up event or onboarding completion?

andreparodi

Hey Beth, My bad i didn't read properly.

Unfortunately we don't have a custom "New User" event of our own to pick there. So I guess for now i'm kinda stuck until we have that. Which is a bit odd/frustrating as i can get the exact graph i want by doing a custom retention chart.

It's strange and something still doesn't fully make sense to me. In the chart I have:

"Starting Event" set to "New User". This sounds like it should be the customize setting called "What event represents a new user action on your Product?" and it's also set to New User

"Then the return Event" set to "Any Active Event". This sounds like it should be the customize setting called "What event represents an active action on your Product?"

A few point of feedback that i've struggled with:

If i get the graph i want in the Chart and the field is called Start Event then if there is a similar setting in the customize section it should have a similar name. I still don't understand why setting "What event represents an active action on your Product?" corresponds to changing the Start Event.
Why can i select New User i the chart but not here. It's odd that i can get an exact chart of retention with Amplitude events but for this "default" retention chart i need to use a custom event to identify new user instead of the standard Amplitude New User.
The labels in the customize page have a little (i) for extra information but it's not very helpful. Hasn't really helped me understand.

I really appreciate the answers you have given me and the above feedback is just to help improve UX and documentation for future. Being able to customize this default retention chart is important as it's the default people will see.

Thanks

Andre

Beth Saunders

I can connect with our team about this, but I did want to flag one thing. Depending on your setup, New User might be too broad for defining new users in your product. For example, do you use Amplitude on your marketing website? Does Amplitude tracking trigger on a sign up page? New User is defined as someone triggering their first event in the reported time period. If an anonymous user visits your website and doesn't actually sign up or use your product, then it might be too broad for you.

Do you track page or screen views? Is there a landing page or screen that new users will always land on after sign up? This might be a way to define the starting event after sign up without having a unique event set up.

If i get the graph i want in the Chart and the field is called Start Event then if there is a similar setting in the customize section it should have a similar name. I still don't understand why setting "What event represents an active action on your Product?" corresponds to changing the Start Event.
1. The active action in your product is supposed to represent an activation event, such as completing onboarding or doing something of value, and not just signing up for your product, which is why I suspect you can't select it here.
  1. I'm letting the team know about the inconsistency, but I suspect the out of the box chart has more guardrails in place.
Why can i select New User in the chart but not here. It's odd that i can get an exact chart of retention with Amplitude events but for this "default" retention chart i need to use a custom event to identify new user instead of the standard Amplitude New User.
1. I'm following up with the team about this
The labels in the customize page have a little (i) for extra information but it's not very helpful. Hasn't really helped me understand.
1. I will pass on this feedback to the team

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