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for Marketers

Adjust's attribution methods

Attribution Methods-Banner-i0380-a01-v01-20220517

Adjust's attribution matches your app users to the source that drove their install. You can use this attribution data to measure campaign performance, run effective retargeting campaigns, optimize your creative assets, and more.

Adjust supports two attribution methods: deterministic attribution and probabilistic modeling for both clicks and impressions. The type of conversion and quality of user engagement determine which method we use.

Deterministic attribution

Deterministic attribution is Adjust's main attribution method and involves device matching. We collect a unique identifier from recorded engagements and installs, and if both IDs match, we can attribute that engagement to the install. With a 100% accuracy rate, click-based device matching is the most reliable attribution method.

We use deterministic attribution to attribute installs (first app opens) and reattribute (assign new attribution sources to) inactive users.

Adjust uses the following identifiers for deterministic attribution:

Advertising IDs	Used explicitly for advertising purposes. Device users have the option to reset the ID or can refuse to share it (such as limit ad tracking settings). Adjust stores advertising IDs and they can be used for retargeting purposes. iOS example: IDFA Android example: GPS ADID (for Android)
Device IDs	Permanently attached to the device without users having the option to reset it or deny sharing rights. Adjust does not record device IDs by default, nor do we store raw device IDs; we only use them for attribution purposes. iOS example: IDFV (for iOS) Android example: Android ID, OAID (for Android devices that do not have access to GPS)
Adjust reftags	Unique IDs created by Adjust for every click or impression on both iOS and Android. Adjust only uses Android reftags for attribution matching. Click with referrer matching is the term used by Adjust for click-based attribution matching using Android reftags. Learn more about the Adjust reftag.

How it works

FAQ

Note:

Adjust considers referrer matching and either advertising ID or device ID matching as equal methods for attribution matching. But, if a click has both referrer matching and either advertising ID or device ID matching, Adjust sets the attribution method as referrer matching.

Probabilistic modeling

Probabilistic modeling is Adjust's secondary attribution method, and uses machine learning to support a statistical approach to measurement.

On iOS 14.5+, probabilistic modeling can be used for owned media, cross-promotion, and consented web-to-app flows. You can also choose to use Extended Privacy Measurement.

You can turn on probabilistic modeling for clicks and impressions at the app level and link level (ad networks | custom links) at any time.

Platform support

Since iOS and Android operating systems handle user data in different ways, Adjust may use a different attribution method and fallback depending on the user's device, the advertising channel and engagement source.

Attribution on iOS 14.5+

Advertising channel	Engagement source	ATT consented users	SKAdNetwork attribution
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	Mobile web	Probabilistic modeling	Not available
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	In-app	Deterministic matching Fallback: probabilistic modeling	Not available
Networks	Mobile web & In-app	Deterministic matching Fallback: probabilistic modeling	If supported by the ad network
Self-Attributing Networks	Mobile web & In-app	SANs claim installs based on their own attribution.	Yes, with limited reporting

Attribution on iOS 14.4 and earlier

Advertising channel	Engagement source	Attribution methods on Apple iOS < 14.4
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	Mobile web	probabilistic modeling
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	In-app	Deterministic matching Fallback: probabilistic modeling
Networks	Mobile web & In-app	Deterministic matching Fallback: probabilistic modeling
Self-Attributing Networks	Mobile web & In-app	SANs claim installs based on their own attribution.

Attribution on Android

Advertising channel	Enagement source	Attribution methods on Android
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	Mobile web	Deterministic matching using the Google Play Store Referrer Fallback: probabilistic modeling
Owned Channels (CRM, website, etc)	In-app
Networks	Mobile web & In-app
Self-Attributing Networks	Mobile web & In-app	SANs claim installs based on their own attribution.

Attributing TV campaigns

Adjust supports different types of TV campaign measurement: running connected TV (CTV) ads to drive installs of your CTV app, or running CTV ads to drive installs of your mobile app.

To learn how Adjust attributes TV ad impressions, read our connected TV documentation.