Set up Apple Ads

Adjust uses the Apple Ads Attribution API and Apple Search Ads Campaign Management API to measure your campaigns with Apple Ads. For more information, see How Apple Search Ads attribution works.

Before you begin

Here’s what you need to know before you get started.

Requirements

  • Ensure you have the Adjust iOS SDK 4.25.0 or later.
  • Add the AdServices framework to your app.
  • Your Apple Ads login credentials.
  • Your Apple ID needs to have admin permissions for the Apple Ads account(s) that you want to link.

Add Apple Ads account in Adjust

Apple Search Ads (ASA) offers two options for their customers:

  • Basic
  • Advanced

Apple's Campaign Management API that provides campaign information and ad spend data is only available for customers using the Advanced solution. Customers on the Basic solution will see their measurement parameters as unknown in Adjust.

In addition to using the Advanced option of Apple Search Ads, you need to link your Apple Ads account in Adjust to see campaign details and measure ad spend data.

Note:

You do not need to set up Apple Ads as a network in Campaign Lab.

Follow these steps to add your Apple Ads account.

  1. Under DataWorks, select Connections.
  2. Select New Connection.
  3. Select Apple/Apple Ads.
  4. Select Connect Account.
  5. Log in to your Apple ID that has Apple Ads admin permissions.
  6. On the Select Permissions screen, choose the permissions that you want to grant Adjust:
    • If Adjust is only retrieving ad spend data from Apple Ads, select Account Read Only.
    • If Adjust is managing bids and budgets for Apple Ads, select Account Read & Write.
  7. Select Save.

(Optional) Configure the Attribution Settings before starting the campaign

You can activate Apple Ads as a partner and configure attribution settings even before receiving any campaign data from Apple Search Ads.

How to Configure Attribution Settings in Advance

Adjust allows you to manually enable Apple Search Ads from the Partners screen by following a simple setup wizard: Go to Campaign Lab and select Partners.

Click on Add Partner and choose Apple/Apple Ads from the list. Follow the four-step configuration wizard:

  1. Partner selection – Select Apple.
  2. App selection – Choose the app for which you want to configure.
  3. Attribution settings – Set your preferences, such as enabling Impressions (view-through engagements) and Priority of untimed clicks.
  4. Review – Confirm your configuration and save the setup.

Once completed, Apple Ads will be active as a partner for the selected app, and you’ll be ready to attribute campaigns with the customized attribution settings as soon as they launch.

This proactive setup allows you to align your attribution strategy with your campaign plan, without needing to wait for data to flow from Apple AdServices.

(Optional) Implement the consent pop-up

Add the AppTrackingTransparency framework to your app and implement the Popup, then Initialize approach. This allows Adjust to receive the detailed payload from Apple for users with an authorized ATT status. With the detailed payload, Apple provides the engagement timestamp, which allows Adjust to perform more accurate attribution.

Apple still sends the standard payload for users without an authorized ATT status, so Adjust can still attribute all iOS 14.3+ users regardless of ATT status.

For more information, see Apple Search Ads - Response types.

(Optional) Configure attribution settings for untimed clicks

Adjust offers the flexibility to prioritize untimed clicks from Apple Search Ads within the attribution waterfall. Untimed clicks —those without a timestamp due to privacy restrictions— were automatically placed just above organic installs by default. However, you can now opt to prioritize these clicks as other clicks, allowing them to take precedence in your attribution model.

How to Enable Untimed Clicks Priority

To configure this setting:

  1. Under Campaign Lab, select Partners.
  2. Navigate to Apple Ads, select your app.
  3. Locate the Untimed Clicks Priority tile at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Choose one of the following options:
    • Default: Lower the priority of untimed engagements (Such engagements will only win against Organic)
    • Keep untimed engagements at their original priority (Engagement priority and attribution method will stay the same. Such engagements will lose to any timed engagement of the same priority.)

This setting provides greater flexibility in optimizing your ASA campaign strategies, ensuring your attribution models reflect your business objectives.

Next steps

Once you've set up your campaign in Apple Ads, links are automatically available on the Apple network details page under Campaigns > Partners.

  • (Optional) Customize your attribution settings from the Apple network details page.