Apple’s updated privacy policy, App Tracking Transparency (ATT), will become effective with iOS 14.5. Apple devices will deny IDFA transfer by default, and once an application is installed and launched for the first time, it will have to request user consent before sending their data to advertising platforms.
IDFA is a unique identifier used by Apple to identify and measure iOS user devices. Marketers and app owners use IDFA to show personalized ads, set precise targeting, and optimize and assess ad campaigns.
From now on, should a user not give permission to transfer IDFA, advertisers will not be able to track the actions of users in their apps. They will only have access to a particular ad campaign’s value, conversions, and engagement.
For the scenario where a user denies IDFA transfer, Apple suggests using a new feature, SKAdNetwork. To limit the amount of user data transferred to third parties, Apple will handle attribution on their end and send install information to an ad network. This means that information about the device on which the app was installed will not be available either to the advertising network or to the promoted application.
Developers, advertising platforms, and trackers are looking for ways to acquire the necessary data while remaining compliant with the new Apple policy. While some are planning to give users incentives to use IDFA, others are working on alternative ways to identify devices. One thing is clear: the way to measure attribution in the industry has changed for good. It’s time to adapt.
At MyTracker, we keep a close eye on the industry and support the development of alternative solutions that will ensure both user privacy and correct attribution.
Right now, SKAdNetwork is the only authorized way to acquire attribution data on iOS devices.
Solution: Starting with version 2.1.2, MyTracker SDK will support SKAdNetwork. Upon the first launch after app installation, MyTracker SDK will automatically launch the attribution process.
We recommend that you update MyTracker SDK to the latest version (2.1.2 or higher) to enable Apple iOS 14.5 and SKAdNetwork support.
Attribution data from Google Ads, Facebook, and other self-reporting networks were also linked to IDFA, so these channels will not be getting attributed the way they used to.
Solution: MyTracker provides aggregated data on conversions returning from advertising platforms with impressions, clicks, and costs. Data will be available via reports and API. Data breakdown is similar to other types of data that platforms provide. This solution enables the acquisition of data by conversions, while major self-reporting networks are determining their policies on transmitting postbacks from SKAdNetwork and preparing reliable tools to collect them.
SKAdNetwork will only return a postback to advertising platforms that are registered with Apple.
Solution: some of our partner platforms already have access to acquire postbacks from SKAdNetwork. Each of these platforms has its own technical and formal integration features in MyTracker. All postbacks received from a platform are captured in MyTracker, enabling further analysis and reporting.
Once iOS 14.5 is live, there will be more opportunities for fraud. This is because an attribution decision is made on a device, and an advertising network receives only partial data.
Solution: Fraud Scanner analyzes the entirety of incoming traffic in several stages (hardware, click, in-app) and verifies each installation with unique ML algorithms developed by the MyTracker team. So, even with IDFA transfer being unavailable, the key fraud metrics in Fraud Scanner will not be affected.
SKAdNetwork will make the process of analyzing the performance of ad campaigns and creatives more complex.
Solution: every app owner on MyTracker has access to LTV (30 to 180 days) and churn predictions. Each of these predictions analyzes post-install user activity that will keep coming to MyTracker without changes via SDK, which ensures we can still make predictions with up to 94% accuracy.
Get the most out of iOS 14.5 with MyTracker – sign up on our website or request a personal demo.
