For ordinary Android app logging, android.util.Log is the platform baseline: it provides severity levels and tags, plus Android-specific filtering and build-policy options. Use println for a quick experiment or an intentional standard-output workflow, Timber when its configurable Tree layer solves a real routing or policy need, and Kotlin-Logging when Kotlin-friendly calls and an appropriate JVM logging backend already fit your project.
How the four approaches differ
| Approach | What it provides | Setup and control | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
println |
A minimal standard-output call. | Little call-site ceremony, but it does not expose Android Log’s documented priority-and-tag interface or Android-specific controls. Its exact visibility depends on the runtime and tooling. | Quick experiments or a deliberate standard-output workflow. |
android.util.Log |
Android’s native app-logging API, with severity methods and tags identifying the source. | No third-party logging library is needed. Android documents filtering, runtime tag properties, and examples of removing selected calls with R8; teams still need to define and review their own policy. | Android-only apps that need direct platform controls without another abstraction. |
| Timber | A small API layered over Android Log, with behavior supplied by Tree implementations. |
Add the dependency and plant the desired Trees; none are installed by default. Trees provide extension points for routing and behavior. | Apps that benefit from centralized destinations or distinct debug and production behavior. |
| Kotlin-Logging | A Kotlin-oriented facade with fluent calls and logger acquisition that need not name a class explicitly. | For JVM use, the facade needs a backend dependency and a runtime logging implementation. Level configuration belongs to the underlying framework. | Kotlin projects where the facade and a compatible backend fit the wider application architecture. |
These are architectural differences, not benchmark results: no performance comparison establishes one approach as faster. Android’s Log API reference documents the platform calls, while the AOSP logging guidance describes Android-specific controls.
Should you use println or Android Log?
Use println for a narrow purpose
println is convenient when you need a quick diagnostic and do not need a tagged, severity-based Android logging interface. Do not assume it behaves exactly like Android Log in every device, runtime, or logging tool: the available documentation here does not establish that equivalence.
Use Log for Android-native controls
android.util.Log offers methods at different priorities and a tag that identifies a source, often a class or activity. The API also includes the lower-level Log.println call; that is distinct from the Kotlin or Java standard-output function named println. The API reference warns that logging method return values can vary across Android releases, so avoid relying on them for application logic.
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AOSP documents tag-based filtering and runtime properties such as log.tag.*. It also gives guidance for logging levels and examples of R8 rules that remove selected calls. These are controls teams can configure—not a promise that every app automatically strips the same messages. Set an explicit policy for debug and release builds rather than assuming the API or build system will make that decision for you.
What Timber adds to Android Log
Timber puts a small, extensible API over Android’s normal Log class. Its Tree abstraction gives a team a place to add or change logging behavior, including routing. The project documents a DebugTree that infers a class-based tag, as well as embedded lint checks for issues such as argument mismatches, overly long tags, formatting, string concatenation, and exception logging.
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Install a Tree deliberately
Timber has no Tree installed by default. Plant the Trees the app intends to use early in startup; the project README identifies the application’s onCreate as a logical place. Until a Tree is planted, the library does not provide the logging behavior teams may expect from a configured setup. See the Timber README for current project details; dependency coordinates and release information can change, so verify them against the project before adding a version to a build file.
Can you use Kotlin-Logging in an Android app?
Kotlin-Logging is a Kotlin-focused facade. Its documentation shows logger acquisition with KotlinLogging.logger {} and calls such as logger.debug { ... }. The lambda form defers message construction until the debug level is enabled, according to the project documentation. This can make call sites more idiomatic when writing Kotlin code, but it does not remove the need to decide how log events are implemented and configured.
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Account for the backend
The Kotlin-Logging wiki describes the library as wrapping SLF4J with Kotlin extensions. In JVM projects, the facade needs a backend dependency, and a logging implementation must be available at runtime. The facade’s level configuration is delegated to the underlying framework. For an Android app, determine which backend is appropriate for that app and verify its Android compatibility; the project documentation does not establish one universally correct Android dependency set or a current compatibility matrix. The wiki also describes MDC support and notes that transferring thread or coroutine context requires suitable coroutine integration. Consult the Kotlin-Logging wiki for project behavior, and verify current release details rather than copying its dated or inconsistent version examples.
Choose based on your build and team policy
- Choose
Logwhen the app is Android-only and native priorities, tags, filtering, and build controls are sufficient. - Choose Timber when the value of a Tree-based extension point—such as managing destinations or separating debug and production behavior—justifies the extra dependency and startup setup.
- Choose Kotlin-Logging when Kotlin-friendly syntax is useful and the project already has, or is prepared to configure, a compatible JVM logging backend.
- Choose
printlnfor quick diagnostics or when standard output is explicitly the intended mechanism, not as a drop-in substitute for Android’s tag and priority controls.
Whichever API you choose, make release logging and privacy explicit. AOSP’s guidance describes level-based conventions and possible removal of selected calls, but teams must configure and review the policy for their own builds. Its security guidance is direct: “Do not log Personally Identifiable Information (PII).” It specifically names email addresses, telephone numbers, and names as examples, and calls for privacy and policy review before release. Read the AOSP guidance for the full context.
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What the available study does—and does not—show
A 2019 F-Droid study reported that 68.9% (7,025 of 10,193) of the logging-library modifications observed by its authors changed from Android’s default logging library or Java standard output, such as System.out.println, to a third-party library. That figure describes modifications in the study’s corpus; it is not the share of apps using third-party logging today, a current trend estimate, or evidence that a particular library is superior. The scope matters when interpreting the 2019 paper.
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