iOS 10 & Mobile App Attribution: What You Need to Know

The upcoming iOS 10 launch brings with it exciting new opportunities for app developers and publishers. It also requires that app attribution providers like Singular be prepared to continue to attribute installs and other events on Apple devices. Singular has worked with Apple and other major industry stakeholders for years. We strive to ensure that our clients are ready for updates that may affect mobile app attribution and event measurement. iOS is a leading software platform for mobile devices, so it is absolutely critical that we are ready for the launch.

Rest assured that we are prepared for the latest update. Here are the most important ways that iOS 10 will affect app marketers, and how we have worked to ensure that the transition is incredibly smooth for our clients.

App Store Search Ads

Sponsored search ads are coming to the App Store, and many marketers are anxious to test and implement them. In a recent survey, we asked mobile app marketers from around the world about their level of interest in advertising in sponsored search results in the App Store and Google Play, and the response was very strong.

Singular clients can be assured that they will be able to track and attribute installs driven by the App Store using Singular Attribution.  The App Store will be treated as an additional source in our reporting, so you will be able to measure performance just as you would other traffic and install sources.

Changes to “Limit Ad Tracking” and Attribution

For some time Apple has offered a limit ad tracking feature intended to stop brands from collecting and using behavioral data in order to define targeting and messaging. With iOS 9, brands were directed NOT to collect or store advertising IDs (IDFAs) when users opted out of ad tracking. With iOS 10, Apple replaces the IDFA with a series of zeros if a user opts-out of tracking.

While mobile app attribution is unrelated to interest-based data collection, this new approach to masking the IDFA changes the way that attribution providers can track devices that are opted-out.

Singular is prepared for this change, and will continue to be able to track attributions on masked IDFA devices. We have been working closely with leading networks and publishers to ensure that we have an effective way of tracking and attributing installs to devices that have Limit Ad Tracking turned on.

In the event that a device has a masked IDFA, our platform will automatically switch to our renowned device fingerprinting methodology. In this way we will use the deterministic method of attributing to IDFA when those IDs are available, and an effective probabilistic method for devices where IDs are masked. The solution respects user privacy with regard to user interest tracking while ensuring that marketers have the essential data necessary to measure and optimize their campaigns.