For people who built a consumer app, what actually got users to come back?

I’m starting to realize that getting downloads and getting actual users are two completely different problems.

Someone can download an app, try it once, and never open it again, but that download still makes your acquisition numbers look better.

For those of you who have built B2C apps, what actually made a noticeable difference in retention?

Was it better onboarding, push notifications, daily content, streaks, simplifying the product, changing the core experience, or something completely different?

I’m especially curious if there was something you thought would improve retention that ended up doing basically nothing.

I’m currently trying to figure this out with my own iOS app, The Agora: Philosophy Debates. I’ve built things like a Daily Challenge and reasoning streaks to give people a reason to return, but I’m trying to learn what actually works in practice rather than just adding features.

If anyone’s interested in seeing the app for context:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-agora-philosophy-debates/id6762416967