At a glance
D7 Retention % is a retention metric tracked from PostHog data. It measures the share of users who returned and were active 7 days after their first visit. PostHog builds it from cohort retention analysis. D7 is the early-warning twin of D30: it reacts much faster to onboarding, product, and lifecycle changes, so a moving D7 tells you whether a recent change is helping or hurting weeks before D30 confirms it.
| What it counts | The percentage of a cohort still active 7 days after their first activity. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from PostHog retention insights, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | D7 is the fast retention signal. It catches the effect of onboarding and lifecycle changes early, while there is still time to react. |
| Reading the value | Compare against the prior period and your baseline. A drop of more than 5 percentage points versus baseline is flagged. |
| Currency | percent |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | drop >5pp vs baseline |
| Sentiment key | ph_retention_d7 |
| Roles | owner, marketing |
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your PostHog data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A representative reading of D7 Retention % for a typical merchant on PostHog. Suppose D7 holds around 28% for months. After a welcome-flow change on 10 May 26, the next cohorts return at 21%, a 7pp drop that crosses the alert. Because D7 reacts in a week rather than a month, you catch the regression early enough to revert before it cascades into D30. Cross-reference New vs Returning Users to see whether the change altered who returns, and D30 Retention to track the longer effect. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to trace upstream causes; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
ph_retention_d30 | Retention sibling: the 30-day horizon. |
ph_stickiness | Retention sibling: DAU as a share of MAU. |
ph_new_vs_returning | Retention sibling: new-to-returning mix. |
ph_dau | Executive sibling: Daily Active Users. |
pos_returning_users | Audience sibling: returning users count. |
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in PostHog’s own dashboard: In PostHog, open a Retention insight and read the day-7 column of the cohort grid. The percentage there should align with this card. As with D30, the retention event and the recurring-versus-first-time setting are the main levers. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Retention event. “Any event” versus a specific action changes the rate. | Variable | Match the retention event. |
| Recurring vs first-time. The two retention types give different curves. | Variable | Confirm the retention type. |
| Cohort maturity. Cohorts younger than 7 days have no D7 value yet. | Variable | Use mature cohorts only. |