Install Attribution

Install attribution is the process of assigning credit for each new app install to the ad, campaign, and network that drove it. It's the central product of every MMPGlossaryMobile Measurement Partner (MMP)A third-party attribution provider (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular, Branch, Kochava) that adjudicates which ads drove which installs across multiple ad networks, with i... and the foundation of every UAGlossaryPaid UA (Paid User Acquisition)Mobile app user acquisition via paid advertising channels — Meta, TikTok, Google, AppLovin, ironSource, and other ad networks. decision — without reliable attribution, you can't know which campaigns are working, you can't optimize bids, you can't allocate budget across channels.

The problem is harder than it sounds. A typical install journey: the user sees a TikTok ad, doesn't click; sees a Meta retargetingGlossaryRetargetingPaid advertising targeted at users who already installed your app — typically aimed at re-engaging lapsed users or driving specific in-app actions. ad on day 3, clicks but doesn't install; searches the brand on day 5, sees the App Store listing organically, installs. Which source gets credit? Different attribution rules give different answers — and most ad networks will claim the install if asked, so without a neutral adjudicator (the MMP), multiple networks get credited and you pay multiple times for the same user.

Common attribution rules

• Last-click attributionGlossaryLast-Click AttributionThe default mobile attribution model — credits the last ad clicked before install (within attribution window) with 100% of the install. (default for most MMPs): the last ad the user clicked before install (within window) gets 100% credit. Simple, easy to implement, generally aligns with "the ad that closed the install".
• View-through attributionGlossaryView-Through AttributionAn attribution mechanism that credits installs to ads the user SAW but did not click, within a short window (typically 1-24 hours).: credit given when a user saw an ad but didn't click, then installed within a shorter window (1-24 hours). Weaker signal than click-through. Often used as a tiebreaker when no click attribution applies.
• Multi-touch attributionGlossaryMulti-Touch Attribution (MTA)An attribution model that distributes install credit across multiple touchpoints in the user journey — not just the last click.: credit distributed across multiple touchpoints (linear, time-decay, position-based, data-driven). More accurate in theory, harder post-ATTGlossaryApp Tracking Transparency (ATT)Apple's iOS 14.5+ framework requiring apps to display a system prompt and obtain user consent before accessing the IDFA or tracking the user across other apps and we....
• First-click attribution: opposite of last-click — first ad the user clicked gets credit. Less common; sometimes used for "demand generation" measurement.
• Engaged-view attribution: video ads watched to a defined completion threshold (often 6 seconds or 50% completion) credit the install. Common in YouTube and TikTok attribution.

Post-ATT iOS attribution is a patchwork

• SKANGlossarySKAdNetwork (SKAN)Apple's privacy-preserving attribution framework for iOS — returns install credit to ad networks with a deliberate delay and aggregation, without exposing any device... postbacks for installs from SKAN-enabled ad networks (most major networks now).
• MMP device-level attribution for users who opted in via ATT (20-40% of users).
• Apple Search AdsGlossaryApple Search Ads (ASA)Apple's ad platform for promoting apps in App Store search results and other App Store placements. The highest-intent paid acquisition channel on iOS. Attribution API for Apple Search Ads campaigns specifically.
• First-party signal — CRM matching, web-to-appGlossaryWeb-to-AppA user acquisition flow where users discover and engage with your product via web first, then are converted to install the mobile app — often with deferred deep link... journey continuity via deferred deep linkingGlossaryDeferred Deep LinkingA deep-link mechanism that preserves the intended in-app destination across an app install — the user clicks a link, installs the app, and opens directly to the inte..., user-entered identifiers.
• Meta and TikTok internal attribution — running their own user-level attribution within their walled gardensGlossaryWalled GardenA closed advertising ecosystem (Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon, Apple) that controls its own inventory, data, and measurement — and reports on its own performance rath....

The MMP's job is to ingest all of these, deduplicate them (so the same install isn't credited to multiple sources), and produce a unified view.

Android attribution is simpler because GAIDGlossaryGAID (Google Advertising ID)Google's per-device advertising identifier on Android — the equivalent of Apple's IDFA. Still broadly available in 2026, but Privacy Sandbox for Android will eventua...-based deterministic attribution still works for most users (~80-90% of Android users don't opt out of advertising IDGlossaryDevice IDA unique identifier assigned to a mobile device (or its advertising profile) used to recognize the same device across apps and sessions — the backbone of determinist...). MMPs primarily use install-referrer (Google Play's official mechanism for click-to-installGlossaryClick-to-Install Rate (CTI)The percentage of users who click an ad and then complete the install — typically 20-50% depending on category and traffic quality. attribution) plus device-level matching. Privacy SandboxGlossaryPrivacy Sandbox (Android)Google's multi-year initiative to introduce privacy-preserving alternatives to GAID-based ad tracking on Android — the platform's eventual SKAN equivalent. for Android (phased rollout) will eventually introduce SKAN-like aggregated attribution by ~2027.