Reattribution

Adjust can reattribute dormant users who engage with a new source and then return to your app. Here, you'll find a general overview and frequently asked questions about reattribution in Adjust.

Tip:

The full recording of the Unlocking Adjust potential training can be found here.

How it works

Reattribution is when an inactive user engages with a retargeting campaign, returns to your app, and gets assigned a new source in Adjust.

We reattribute users who have:

  • Installed the app on their device previously
  • Engaged with an Adjust impression or click link that’s eligible as a source of reattribution. The link must also use a different link token to the one they were attributed for the original install.
  • Triggered an in-app session within the determined reattribution window. The user may or may not have to reinstall the app before being able to generate the session.
  • Been inactive for a specific amount of time (as determined by your inactivity period) before triggering the in-app session

If a user meets all of these conditions, Adjust reattributes and reports any further in-app activity to the latest attribution source. Depending on your settings, a user can often qualify for reattribution in Adjust.

We use the following activities for reattribution:

  • Clicks and impressions (with valid advertising IDs)
    • Clicks and impressions without a valid advertising ID can be used, but only if probabilistic reattribution is enabled.
  • Deep link clicks
  • App sessions claimed by a self-attributing network
Note:
Paid users never get reattributed as organic traffic. Because reattribution requires marketing engagement, we only reattribute them to other sources.

Reattribution settings

Inactivity period

An inactivity period defines how long users must be inactive before qualifying for reattribution.

For example, if you set a 7-day inactivity period, users who don't open your app for a full week qualify for reattribution. If you set a 0-day inactivity period, Adjust can reattribute users within a single app session. We record a new session when a user opens your app after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Reattribution window

A reattribution window determines how long Adjust considers engagements for reattribution. For example, if you set a 7-day reattribution window, users who engage with an ad and then open your app within a week can be reattributed. 

For clicks

Attribution methodInactivity periodReattribution window
Device matching0 - 365 days
Default: 7 days
1 - 30 days
Default: 7 days
Probabilistic modeling0 - 365 days
Default: 7 days
1 - 24 hours
Default: 24 hours
Temporary attribution1 - 90 days
Default 7 days

For impressions

Attribution methodInactivity periodReattribution window
Device matching0 - 365 days
Default: 7 days
1 - 24 hours
Default: 24 hours
Probabilistic modeling0 - 365 days
Default: 7 days
1 - 24 hours
Default: 6 hours
Temporary attribution1 - 90 days

Reattribution and events


Tip:

The full recording of the Understanding Data & Reporting training can be found here.