Apple announced its’ App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in June 2020, and the ATT is expected to be enforced by Apple within several weeks. Apple has postponed the policy’s enforcement several times already, but this time the deadline is getting very close.
Who is affected the most by the ATT in the first place?
The policy is focused on user privacy and IDFA (the identifier for advertisers) usage. If you already know the IDFA and how it’s used in mobile advertising, you can skip to the next paragraph. I’ll explain quickly for those relatively new to mobile marketing attribution.
The IDFA is a unique random iPhone ID assigned to the device.
The Identifier for Vendors (IDFV) is a unique device ID assigned to all apps published in the App Store by the same developer.
It is available for iOS developers using the advertisingIdentifier method of ASIdentifierManager.
Social networks that provide advertisements, like Facebook, use the IDFA to match app users who saw an app advertisement on their network and installed that app.
For example, could you assume you are running your mobile app? Instagram ads f A user clicks on the ad and is forwarded to the App Store to install the app. Facebook's advertising engine saves this user’s IDFA so that it knows that the specific user clicked on the ad. After the user installs the app, Facebook’s advertising SDK installed in that app reads the device’s IDFA and reports it back to Facebook. Facebook matches the user to the one who clicked on the ad.
That is how Facebook Advertising provides accurate and in-depth data on the number of installs, in-app purchases, and many other valuable information on an advertising campaign level. Other platforms that offer mobile app advertising services are using the same technique. Think of Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and many more. And these platforms are the leading source of paid acquisition for mobile apps. If you have a high-quality app, you can grow it profitably by acquiring users from these massive networks and measuring your advertising efficiency with remarkable precision. But this is about to change.
Apple’s ATT requires apps to ask for user consent to tracking. If a user opts out, the IDFA is not available. Once the IDFA is not available, it’s very hard to match the user to the ad that the user clicked to install the app.
Apple's enforcement of the ATT is likely to significantly affect app marketers. Estimates suggest that more than 70% of users will not allow tracking, so the existing advertising measurement might collapse as soon as the ATT is enforced.
Many mobile measurement platforms (MMPs), like AppsFlyer, Adjust, and Tenjin, provide convenient mobile advertising measurement for app marketers. All of them are leveraging the IDFA to some extent, and now their marketing attribution models will also have to change.
You can find Apple’s ATT overview here, including the answers to frequently asked questions.
SKAdNetwork instead of the IDFA for marketing attribution
Apple offered a solution to measure app ads. This solution does not violate user privacy and does not require the IDFA. The solution is Apple’s SKAdNetwork framework.
SKAdNetwork transmits app attribution data to the advertising network on the advertising campaign level. Let’s have a look at the following simplified example:
You are running some ads for your app on Instagram. Instagram is registered with SKAdNetwork as an advertising platform. When a user clicks on the ad, Instagram sends this data to SKAdNetwork. Once a user launches the app, Apple’s SKAdNetwork registers that the user installed the app. Apple’s SKAdNetwork posted to Instagram that the advertising campaign resulted in an installation. There is no data on specific users shared; it is just that a particular advertising campaign led to an installation.
What are the limitations of SKAdNetwork compared to matching users based on the IDFA?
The information available through SKAdNetwork is minimal, and the data reporting process is limited.
The most important limitations are:
- the minimum delay SKAdNetwork reports the data to ad networks is 24-48 hours
- only one conversion value is reported
- 100 different campaigns limit per network
SKAdNetwork Reporting time
The installation is reported within 24 hours via SKAdNetwork.
An additional conversion value besides the install itself can be reported. However, setting this conversion value delays the data's postback.
To include the conversion value in the postback, a developer needs to trigger the updateConversionValue method. When this method is called, the additional 24-hour timer is started. The developer can reset the timer by invoking the process and providing the new conversion value. The value is reported in 24 hours if there is no further update. When this timer expires, SKAdNetwork randomly returns the attribution data to an ad network within the next 24 hours. So, the lag between app installation and the data received by an ad network can be 72 hours or more.
Possible reporting time:
Install -> Conversion value update within 24 hours -> Postback at the expiration of 24 hours -> Data reported to an ad network within the next 24 hours.
If you update the conversion value once, the minimum delay is 24-48 hours. This makes it virtually impossible to adjust marketing in real time.
SKAdNetwork Conversion value
The conversion value has a 6-bit limitation. There are a maximum of 64 unique conversion values. The consecutive conversion value update needs to be at a higher level to be recorded. For example, the “onboarding passed event” reads 000001, and then the user performs a “start a free trial event” with the value 000011.
SKAdNetwork Campaigns Limit
The following significant limitation is the number of campaigns per network. The current limit is 100 campaigns. According to its iOS 14 guidance, Facebook allows just 9 active campaigns with 5 ad sets.
What else should you remember when transitioning to using SKAdNetwork for marketing measurement?
It’s important to note that you can still access the IDFA if a user consents within the ATT framework. So, it is a good idea to explain to your users why allowing tracking is beneficial to them.
The information on the ATT and SKAdNetwork is being updated frequently. We may be able to update this article as more information is available.
Michael
CEO at Qonversion
Michael leads Qonversion with a vision to help mobile apps maximize their subscription revenue.
