Measure Android devices without access to Google Play
The Google Play Store (GPS) is unavailable in certain markets, which means it cannot be used to publish apps. This means that MMPs must use an alternative method to measure campaigns from Android devices.
Here, you can find out how Adjust measures Android devices that do not have access to Google Play Services.
Overview
In China, the Google Play Store is not available and it does not come preloaded on Android phones sold in China. Due to U.S. law, Huawei cannot preload the Google Play Store on their devices. Users also cannot download the Google Play Store on Huawei devices worldwide.
When GPS is not included on a device, there is no Google Play Store Advertising ID (gps_adid) available. Instead, the device must use an alternate identifier for attribution.
In this case, the main device ID that can be used is the Open Anonymous ID (OAID). OAID is an advertising ID that the MSA (Mobile Security Alliance) announced all Chinese-manufactured devices should provide. You can use it to measure attribution from Android devices in many markets where GPS is not available.
Prior to OAID, the main device ID for attribution was the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number or the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID). However, these identifiers are persistent. Google limits access to these identifiers on devices running Android 10 and above for privacy reasons. It is still possible to collect these identifiers for devices running earlier versions of Android.
Measurement options
The following table summarises the available datapoints for Android devices across different OS versions.
| OS Version | OAID | IMEI/MEID | Android ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version 10+ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Version 8.0 - 9.0 | ✔ | ✔ with permission | ✔ |
| Pre-version 8.0 | ✔ | ✔ with permission | ✔ |
Measure with OAID
Adjust's OAID plugin provides the OAID of a device, while the Android SDK continues to collect and use any other available identifiers. The OAID is readable on all devices using the MSA SDK or Huawei Mobile Service (HMS) on Huawei devices.
Before you use this plugin, make sure to follow our developer guide to Get Started with the Android SDK.
Once you have integrated the Adjust SDK into your app, follow the instructions for OAID plugin integration.
Measure with Samsung referrer
Adjust uses the Samsung referrer plugin to collect install information for attribution from the Samsung Galaxy Store. The Samsung referrer plugin enables the Adjust SDK to read Samsung Galaxy store install referrer values on a device. The SDK sends this information to the Adjust backend as part of the install payload.
To learn how to measure installs using this plugin, see Measure installs from Samsung Galaxy Store.
Measure with Huawei referrer
For Huawei devices running AppGallery version 10.4+, Adjust uses the Huawei Referrer API to collect install information for attribution. If you are using the Adjust Android SDK, support for the Huawei Referrer is implemented automatically.
Use our Android SDK developer documentation to read more about setting up the install referrer and the minimum SDK version required.
Measure with IMEI/MEID
As OAID is not supported on every device, you need to set up IMEI measurement individually for each app. To do this, follow these steps.
- Set up IMEI measurement in your app.
- Implement the Adjust SDK IMEI plugin in your app.
To ensure that your Adjust SDK supports IMEI measurement, contact your Technical Account Manager to allowlist your account for IMEI. You also need to sign the necessary terms and conditions when setting up your app in AppView.