ATT & SKAN solutions

Apple's user privacy regulations require that you receive user consent to access an iOS device's IDFA if you are collecting data and sharing it with partners for tracking purposes.

Adjust's iOS & SKAN solutions ensure you have can preserve user privacy at every step of the process while running effective iOS campaigns.

  • Built-in ATT support in our SDK
  • SKAdNetwork campaign management with Conversion Hub
  • Dedicated SKAN dashboards in Datascape
  • Granular raw data reporting with dedicated SKAN metrics

SKAN fundamentals

In this video you can learn about the SKAdNetwork fundamentals, including understanding differences between the two datasets that result from campaigns with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework and from campaigns with Apple’s SKAdNetwork. You can also get help on how to interpret your SKAdNetwork data and gain actionable insights.

Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about working on iOS, ATT, and with SKAdNetwork.

Running campaigns with both ATT and SKAdNetwork

SKAdNetwork and ATT are separate frameworks. Many networks support running campaigns for both in parallel. Due to how SKAdNetwork is designed, it is not possible to associate the data between the two sources. This means you will have separate statistics from each data source.

Using Adjust links within the ATT framework offers the following when permitted per ATT policy:

  • Device-level attribution.
  • Raw data.
  • More granular campaign and source breakdown.
  • Deferred deep linking.

In comparison, SKAdNetwork data is primarily used for aggregated reporting. However, attribution is not limited by the user's ATT consent status in SKAdNetwork framework. This makes it a more reliable framework for billing ad networks that support SKAdNetwork campaigns. You can find more details on how to avoid duplicate attribution and billing for users running iOS 14.5 and later in our blog post.

Compare SKAN and ATT data

Since SKAdNetwork and ATT are separate frameworks, they measure and report attribution and users' in-app activities in different ways. To work with the two frameworks, you need to understand how each one works and what its limitations are. You can then use the data and statistics from each source for different analyses and optimizations.

Here are some of the key differences between the frameworks that may cause install discrepancies:

Installs (SKAdNetwork)Installs (ATT)
Attribution is always deterministic.Attribution can happen with probabilistic modeling when allowed by the ATT policy.
Attributes regardless of the user's ATT status.Attribution is limited for users who have not consented per the ATT policy.
Fixed attribution windows.Customizable attribution windows that can differ from SKAdNetwork depending on how you have configured your App on your Adjust dashboard.
Does not attribute installs to organic, owned channels, influencers, or any source except SKAdNetwork registered partners.Can attribute and show reporting for any source.