SKAdNetwork - The New Revolution in App Download Measurement on iOS

Apple's iOS 14 Shakes Up Data Tracking: Meet SKAdNetwork for Privacy-First Conversions

With iOS 14, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature allows users to choose whether they want apps on their devices to track their data or not. This has significant implications for businesses that have previously been accustomed to collecting large amounts of data about their users to target advertising and personalize content. To address this, Apple has introduced their mobile advertising network – SKAdNetwork, which is a way to measure conversions without sharing personal data with advertisers.

What does the latest update of SKAdNetwork mean?

The latest update of SKAdNetwork brings several new features and improvements to the user experience and also allows advertisers to access more detailed information about conversions in their ads, such as:

Private and secure measurement: SKAdNetwork allows app developers to measure conversions without having to share personal data with advertisers. It gives users more control over their privacy, and it gives advertisers a way to measure the effectiveness of their advertising while complying with Apple’s privacy policies.
Postback method: The latest update of SKAdNetwork allows advertisers to access more detailed information about conversions in their ads. This is done through the postback method, which sends a message back to the advertiser after a conversion occurs in real-time. It gives advertisers more details about the conversion, such as which specific campaign or ad led to the conversion, and in this way, advertisers can better optimize their campaigns.
Multiple conversion events: SKAdNetwork 4.0 also allows measuring multiple different conversion events in an app, such as subscriptions, in-app purchases, etc.
Platform-independent: SKAdNetwork is not limited to being available to advertisers on only one platform. Facebook has implemented this system on their platform, and other platforms like TikTok and Snapchat have followed suit, so advertisers can continue to deliver relevant and targeted advertising on the platforms.
Hierarchical conversion value: Hierarchical conversion value also gives advertisers a better understanding of which ads lead to conversions (such as purchases or sign-ups) and which do not. Hierarchical conversion value works by assigning a value to each conversion and then organizing them in a hierarchical order based on their value. In this way, advertisers can focus their advertising efforts on the ads that provide the highest conversion value.
Web-to-app: Although SKAdNetwork is primarily focused on app installation conversions, advertisers can still measure and optimize their web-to-app campaigns with this update. One option is to use App’s universal links and App links, which allow advertisers to track a user from their websites to their app and then measure conversion events in the app. Advertisers can implement these links on their websites and in their ads so that when a user clicks on them, they will be taken to the app if it is installed on their device, otherwise they will be directed to the App Store or Google Play.

Overall, SKAdNetwork 4.0 provides a more private and secure way to measure advertising, while also giving advertisers more opportunities to measure the effectiveness of their advertising and optimize their campaigns.

When was SKAdNetwork created?

SKAdNetwork was announced by Apple in 2018 and was launched in 2019 with iOS 13. It is designed to allow advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their ads on iOS devices in a more private and secure way by avoiding sharing personal data with advertisers.

What is SKAdNetwork?

SKAdNetwork is a system developed by Apple to allow advertisers to measure the impact of their ads on iOS devices without sharing personal data with advertisers. It provides advertisers with a more private and secure way to measure ad conversions. When a user views an ad and then installs the app or performs a conversion, the app sends a unique conversion ID back to the advertiser’s server, allowing the advertiser to measure the conversion rate for the ad. The advertiser receives only aggregated data about the conversion rate and not specific data about individual users or their actions in the app.

How does SKAdNetwork work?

SKAdnetwork works by allowing advertisers to receive a unique “conversion ID” from an app when a user installs or converts after seeing an ad. This ID is then sent back to the advertiser’s server, where it can be used to measure the conversion rate of the ad.

An example of using SKAdnetwork could be an app developer who wants to advertise their app in the App Store. The app developer can implement SKAdnetwork in their app, so when a user sees the ad and then installs the app, the app will send a unique conversion ID back to the advertiser’s server. The app developer can then use this ID to measure the conversion rate of the ad and learn how many users have converted after seeing the ad.

Advertisers can also receive aggregated data about the conversion rate for a range of ads, such as the number of conversions or conversion rate for a specific period, but they do not receive specific data about individual users or their actions in the app.

How do you implement SKAdnetwork?

Implementing SKAdnetwork requires both server configuration and integration in the app.
To implement SKAdnetwork, the following steps must be followed:

1. Sign up as a developer in App Store Connect.
2. Create an advertiser account in App Store Connect.
3. Configure your app in App Store Connect to enable SKAdnetwork.
4. Integrate SKAdnetwork in your app by including the SKAdNetwork library in your project and configuring it in your app code.
5. Send conversion data back to the advertiser’s server using SKAdNetwork APIs.
6. Receive and process conversion data on the advertiser’s server. It is important to note that implementing SKAdnetwork requires some technical knowledge and experience with iOS development, and it may be necessary to seek help from an experienced iOS developer to implement it correctly. If you need help setting up SKAdnetwork, we can assist you.

It is also important to adhere to Apple’s policies and guidelines for the use of SKAdnetwork. Therefore, it is a good idea to research and understand the relevant policies and guidelines before starting to implement SKAdnetwork.

What if you don't use SKAdnetwork?

If you don’t use SKAdnetwork, it is still possible to measure conversions on your app on iOS devices, but you will not have access to the same protection measures and limitations on data sharing that SKAdnetwork offers.

Without SKAdnetwork, advertisers can receive more detailed data about conversions, such as information about individual users and their actions in the app. However, this can also lead to a greater privacy issue for users, as advertisers will have access to personal data about them.

It may also be more difficult for advertisers to measure conversions accurately, as they do not have access to the unique conversion ID that SKAdnetwork provides.

So, compared to SKAdnetwork, you can measure conversions in a less private and secure way, and you may have difficulty measuring them accurately.

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