Should all apps have a bug reporting feature?

Question

Say there is an app (web, mobile etc.). When a backend error occurs, then should the app show the user a summary of the error (and unique error id), without showing any information that could reveal personal info or security issues ?

I believe that summarized error messages would help developers to debug issues easily versus error messages which only say that something went wrong.

So, should all apps have a bug reporting feature (frontend and/or backend) ? As an aside, are there any tools or guidelines for filtering error logs and presenting them to end users ?

Answer 1

As a QA Engineer I am in two minds about bug report features. On the one hand, bugs annoy me and I want them resolved. On the other hand, this is not my job, this is the job of the owner of the app and I get paid to QA other software so someone should be paid to QA this software. Also there will be sorting out of the riff-raff of people who don't really know what a bug is or how to write a useful bug report. If you are willing to have people sift through it and write meaningful reports off of what comes in then use them, though these resources may be better placed in testing the app internally.

For the other part of your question about showing detailed errors I would steer very clear from showing any sort of detail in your error messages and they should definitely not come direct from your logs. The smallest about of info in error messages gives a hacker more to work with. The security of your app should not be reduced to accommodate external testing.

Answer 2

If you want to keep yourself in the market for a long time, then answer is

Yes.

Your application must have automatic or semi-automatic bug reporting integration in your mobile app.

As per my experience, if you allow end user to report the bug then your application will be become more matured.