Ad Attribution (AdAttributionKit)
You can't optimize paid traffic you can't measure. AdAttributionKit is Apple's
privacy-preserving attribution framework — interoperable with SKAdNetwork, and the go-forward
path (it also works in alternative marketplaces). This skill covers the advertised-app side:
what an indie running paid campaigns must implement and how to design conversion signals that
survive privacy thresholds.
Note the seam: Apple Ads attribution uses the AdServices framework, not AdAttributionKit —
campaigns there are measured in the Apple Ads console (see app-store/apple-search-ads). This
skill is for every other paid channel (ad networks, social, publishers).
When This Skill Activates
- Running or planning paid user acquisition outside Apple Ads
- "How do I know which campaign drove installs?" / measuring re-engagement ads
- Designing or debugging conversion values / postbacks
- Migrating from SKAdNetwork (fully interoperable — registered networks need no re-enrollment)
How it works (the 60-second model)
Ad network signs an ad (compact JWS impression) → publisher app shows it → user installs (or
re-engages) → after a privacy-delayed measurement window, a postback with your conversion
info goes to the ad network (and optionally to you). Attribution requires no user tracking;
the price is coarser data, governed by crowd anonymity.
Conversion-value strategy (the part that's actually yours)
- Two granularities: fine value 0–63 and coarse low/medium/high. Low crowd sizes
downgrade fine → coarse and can trim the 4-digit campaign
source-identifier to as few as
its first 2 digits — so encode what matters most (campaign family, geo tier) in the
first two digits, detail in the rest.
- Map values to revenue-predictive early behavior (completed onboarding, trial start, first
purchase), not vanity events. 64 slots go fast; reserve ranges (e.g. 0–15 activation,
16–47 monetization ladder, 48–63 reserved).
- Update with
updateConversionValue(_:) / PostbackUpdate; set lockPostback when the value
is final to schedule transmission (still privacy-delayed, never instant).
- Re-engagement postbacks are separate from install postbacks: update them independently via
conversionTypes (.install / .reengagement); the first re-engagement update must land
within 48 hours.
- Multiple simultaneous re-engagement campaigns need conversion tags (iOS 18.4+): read the
tag from the re-engagement URL's query items, store it, and pass it in
PostbackUpdate —
without a tag, updates hit only the most recent conversion.
Publisher-side mechanics (if your app also shows ads)
- Click-through:
UIEventAttributionView over the tappable ad + appImpression.handleTap()
within 15 minutes of creating the impression.
- View-through:
beginView()/endView() on the same instance; ≥2 seconds on screen to
count; one open view-through per network per advertised app.
SKOverlay / SKStoreProductViewController: attach the impression — they count view on
present, click on tap.
Attribution windows & cooldowns (iOS 18.4+ configurability)
- Defaults: 30 days click-through, 1 day view-through (install ads).
- Override per ad network and interaction type in Info.plist
(
AdAttributionKitConfigurations → AttributionWindows); you can ignore "view" or "click"
(not both) per network.
- Set cooldowns (
install-cooldown-hours, reengagement-cooldown-hours) so a
re-engagement tap minutes after an install isn't double-attributed.
- Country-level postback data (iOS 18.4): storefront country at install, gated behind an extra
crowd-anonymity tier — a bonus signal when volume allows, never guaranteed.
- Overlapping re-engagement conversions require opting in:
EligibleForAdAttributionKitOverlappingConversions = YES in Info.plist.
Testing — never ship blind
- Developer Mode → Settings → Developer → Ad Attribution Testing: removes time
randomization, shortens all conversion windows, sends postbacks on demand — full end-to-end
rehearsal in minutes instead of days.
- Point development postbacks at a separate dev endpoint, never production: they're signed
with a different key (
kid), the network ID is always development.adattributionkit, and
the advertised item ID may be 0 from Xcode.
- ✅ Verify the postback pipeline before spending a dollar. ❌ Debugging attribution after
a live campaign burns budget on unmeasurable installs.
Checklist
References
1---
2name: ad-attribution
3description: Privacy-preserving ad measurement with AdAttributionKit (SKAdNetwork's successor) — install and re-engagement attribution, conversion-value strategy under crowd anonymity, and end-to-end postback testing. Use when running paid acquisition beyond Apple Ads, measuring re-engagement campaigns, designing conversion values, or migrating from SKAdNetwork.
4allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep]
5last_verified: 2026-07-16
6review_by: 2027-06-22
7os_version: iOS 27 / macOS 27
8---
9
10# Ad Attribution (AdAttributionKit)
11
12You can't optimize paid traffic you can't measure. AdAttributionKit is Apple's
13privacy-preserving attribution framework — interoperable with SKAdNetwork, and the go-forward
14path (it also works in alternative marketplaces). This skill covers the *advertised-app* side:
15what an indie running paid campaigns must implement and how to design conversion signals that
16survive privacy thresholds.
17
18Note the seam: **Apple Ads attribution uses the AdServices framework, not AdAttributionKit** —
19campaigns there are measured in the Apple Ads console (see `app-store/apple-search-ads`). This
20skill is for every *other* paid channel (ad networks, social, publishers).
21
22## When This Skill Activates
23
24- Running or planning paid user acquisition outside Apple Ads
25- "How do I know which campaign drove installs?" / measuring re-engagement ads
26- Designing or debugging conversion values / postbacks
27- Migrating from SKAdNetwork (fully interoperable — registered networks need no re-enrollment)
28
29## How it works (the 60-second model)
30
31Ad network signs an ad (compact JWS impression) → publisher app shows it → user installs (or
32re-engages) → after a privacy-delayed measurement window, a **postback** with your conversion
33info goes to the ad network (and optionally to you). Attribution requires no user tracking;
34the price is coarser data, governed by **crowd anonymity**.
35
36## Conversion-value strategy (the part that's actually yours)
37
38- Two granularities: **fine value 0–63** and **coarse low/medium/high**. Low crowd sizes
39 downgrade fine → coarse and can trim the 4-digit campaign `source-identifier` to as few as
40 its **first 2 digits** — so encode what matters most (campaign family, geo tier) in the
41 first two digits, detail in the rest.
42- Map values to *revenue-predictive* early behavior (completed onboarding, trial start, first
43 purchase), not vanity events. 64 slots go fast; reserve ranges (e.g. 0–15 activation,
44 16–47 monetization ladder, 48–63 reserved).
45- Update with `updateConversionValue(_:)` / `PostbackUpdate`; set `lockPostback` when the value
46 is final to schedule transmission (still privacy-delayed, never instant).
47- Re-engagement postbacks are separate from install postbacks: update them independently via
48 `conversionTypes` (.install / .reengagement); the **first re-engagement update must land
49 within 48 hours**.
50- Multiple simultaneous re-engagement campaigns need **conversion tags** (iOS 18.4+): read the
51 tag from the re-engagement URL's query items, store it, and pass it in `PostbackUpdate` —
52 without a tag, updates hit only the most recent conversion.
53
54## Publisher-side mechanics (if your app also *shows* ads)
55
56- Click-through: `UIEventAttributionView` over the tappable ad + `appImpression.handleTap()`
57 within **15 minutes** of creating the impression.
58- View-through: `beginView()`/`endView()` on the same instance; **≥2 seconds** on screen to
59 count; one open view-through per network per advertised app.
60- `SKOverlay` / `SKStoreProductViewController`: attach the impression — they count view on
61 present, click on tap.
62
63## Attribution windows & cooldowns (iOS 18.4+ configurability)
64
65- Defaults: **30 days click-through, 1 day view-through** (install ads).
66- Override per ad network and interaction type in Info.plist
67 (`AdAttributionKitConfigurations` → `AttributionWindows`); you can ignore "view" or "click"
68 (not both) per network.
69- Set **cooldowns** (`install-cooldown-hours`, `reengagement-cooldown-hours`) so a
70 re-engagement tap minutes after an install isn't double-attributed.
71- Country-level postback data (iOS 18.4): storefront country at install, gated behind an extra
72 crowd-anonymity tier — a bonus signal when volume allows, never guaranteed.
73- Overlapping re-engagement conversions require opting in:
74 `EligibleForAdAttributionKitOverlappingConversions` = YES in Info.plist.
75
76## Testing — never ship blind
77
78- **Developer Mode → Settings → Developer → Ad Attribution Testing**: removes time
79 randomization, shortens all conversion windows, sends postbacks on demand — full end-to-end
80 rehearsal in minutes instead of days.
81- Point development postbacks at a **separate dev endpoint**, never production: they're signed
82 with a different key (`kid`), the network ID is always `development.adattributionkit`, and
83 the advertised item ID may be 0 from Xcode.
84- ✅ Verify the postback pipeline before spending a dollar. ❌ Debugging attribution *after*
85 a live campaign burns budget on unmeasurable installs.
86
87## Checklist
88
89- [ ] Conversion-value map documented (0–63 + coarse fallback + first-2-digit priority)
90- [ ] `lockPostback` fired once value is final; re-engagement first update < 48h
91- [ ] Conversion tags wired if >1 re-engagement campaign runs at once
92- [ ] Cooldowns configured; windows tuned per network where defaults don't fit
93- [ ] Dev-endpoint postback rehearsal done in Developer Mode
94- [ ] Campaign readout joined with `growth/analytics-interpretation` (source-type funnel) —
95 attribution tells you *which ad*, App Analytics tells you *what they did after*
96
97## References
98
99- https://developer.apple.com/documentation/adattributionkit
100- https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2024/10060/ (Meet AdAttributionKit)
101- https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/221/ (What's new in AdAttributionKit)
102- Related skills: `app-store/apple-search-ads` (Apple Ads uses AdServices, not this), `growth/analytics-interpretation`, `growth/store-growth-audit` (P7.3 halo tracking)
rshankras