Apple on SKAdNetwork and Private Click Measurement

The new update is official and happening. This will affect the way we use Facebook ads. Apple’s three new application policies will take effect in the short term. Well, this is not surprising. The digital advertising ecosystem is highly dynamic and constantly changing. Whether it is new government regulations or technology company policies, changes have occurred in the past and are likely to happen again in the future.

But now, let’s talk about the current changes caused by the iOS 14.5 update.

View-through attribution

Apple SKAdNetwork supports view-through attribution, allowing advertisers to “measure which creatives are most useful while protecting user privacy.” This means that you will receive a very similar dataset to the current dataset. It can elaborate on what a view is rather than a click.

Adjust is working hard to build support for SKAdNetwork, and our framework makes it easy for customers to set up SKAdNetwork conversions and event mappings. SKAdNetwork uses the download data from the App Store to perform the attribution. Device-level data is not tracked or shared, and SKAdNetwork data is separated from data for adjustable measurements. You can also ask the Help Center for more information.

As more and more networks start to support SKAdNetwork, Apple is working quickly to integrate these solutions into products. So far, Apple has calculated the integration with ironSource, TapJoy, Smadex, Vungle, Unicorn, Lifestreet, Liftoff, and Appier, and the list is increasing every week. This means that customers can view SKAdNetwork data or raw data in Adjust Data Canvas to obtain important information needed to optimize campaigns.

Private Click Measurement (PCM)

Apple’s Private Click Measurement framework is an alternative to cookie-based metrics initially developed by the WebKit team and blocked by ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention). This is considered the standard for web-to-web attribution, but iOS 14.5 extends it to support application-to-web attribution. This new feature is primarily useful for large publisher applications (like Facebook) that can display ads in-app capable of achieving network conversions. Previously, these campaigns were usually measured by URL parameters, but Apple seems to think this violates the AppTrackingTransparency policy.

In-app support for PCM allows these publishers to use a policy-compliant method to assign apps to web ad campaigns without the need for users to activate via AppTrackingTransparency prompts. However, for common mobile marketers who focus on acquiring apps, this new “app-to-web” attribution feature is irrelevant. This can help overcome ad fraud challenges.

How Can You Navigate IDFA Change?

IDFA refers to Apple’s “Identifier for Advertisers.” This is a persistent ID used by mobile devices running the Apple operating system (iOS, tvOS, iPadOS). You can use this ID to place and serve personalized ads by sharing them with app developers, mobile measurement providers (MMPs), and advertising platforms.

The IDFA can also implement rate caps on these platforms, correlate app installs with advertising platforms, and measure campaign effectiveness. It is similar to the Android Advertising Identifier (AAID). This is often referred to as the Mobile Advertising Identifier (MAID). IDFA is often used in conjunction with cookies (found only in web browsers) to create rich identity charts for ad targeting.

The current method of this process is a pop-up notification with a valid message [App Name] is seeking to track your permission through apps and websites owned by other companies.” It is like an explicit consent to be made. Not surprisingly, expectations of high user engagement are minimal at best. Indeed, the industry generally believes that even if the participation rate reaches 10%, expectations are also adjacent to crazy optimism. This development has already had a major impact on the entire $80 billion industry. Even the wisest participation information cannot miraculously solve this problem and can be used as Ad fraud detection tool.

Final Words

Although Apple has started to improve itself on the mentioned issues, we can say that it has a long way to go. This is important because Apple does not invade people’s privacy for marketing purposes. Still, Apple cares about the publishers, brands, and companies that do business on its platform to continue its business.