I'm building a mobile app and want to test onboarding flows with feature flags

A good way to test onboarding flows with feature flags is to treat each step as a controllable experiment rather than a hardcoded path.

Basic approach

1. Identify onboarding variants

   • Full onboarding
   • Shortened onboarding
   • Skip onboarding
   • Different welcome screens
   • Different permission prompts

2. Create feature flags Example flags:

   • onboarding_enabled
   • onboarding_variant_a
   • show_permission_step
   • skip_tutorial
   • new_home_experience

3. Gate the flow Use the flag value at app startup to decide which flow the user sees.

   Example logic:

   • If onboarding_enabled = false → go straight to home
   • If onboarding_variant_a = true → show new onboarding
   • Else → show default onboarding

4. Target specific users Test with:

   • Internal testers
   • Beta users
   • Specific cohorts
   • Random percentage rollout

5. Measure outcomes Track:

   • Completion rate
   • Drop-off step
   • Time to completion
   • Conversion to signup / first action

Suggested setup

For mobile apps, feature flags are often managed with:

• LaunchDarkly
• Firebase Remote Config
• ConfigCat
• Statsig
• Split

Example rollout strategy

• Internal team: 100% new onboarding
• Beta users: 50/50 split
• Production: 5% rollout, then increase

Important testing tips

• Make flags deterministic so the same user sees the same flow
• Cache flags locally for offline support
• Add a fallback flow if flag fetch fails
• Avoid too many flags that can create confusing combinations

Example pseudo-logic

if featureFlag("onboarding_enabled") == false:
    showHome()
else if featureFlag("onboarding_variant_a") == true:
    showOnboardingA()
else:
    showOnboardingDefault()

If you want, I can also help you design:

• a flag strategy for iOS/Android
• a testing matrix for onboarding variants
• or sample code in Swift/Kotlin/React Native.