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SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit experts

Measure your iOS campaigns without identifiers, within Apple's framework.

We write the conversion value schema, configure your MMP and read the postbacks with your media teams.

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EdgeAngel SKAdNetwork expertise

Write the conversion schema, connect the MMP, read the postbacks

01

Conversion value schema

The decision that sets what your iOS campaigns will be able to read. It is taken before the first campaign.

  • Fine value: the 64 values, 0 to 63, of the first postback, split between revenue, events and engagement according to what the campaign optimises
  • Coarse value: low, medium and high for windows 2 and 3 and for the crowd tiers that are not entitled to the fine value
  • Three windows: days 0 to 2, 3 to 7 and 8 to 35, and the lock that freezes a window as soon as the useful signal is acquired
  • Mapping in the MMP: Conversion Hub at Adjust, Conversion Studio at AppsFlyer, one schema for SKAN 3, SKAN 4 and AdAttributionKit
  • Schema updates: at each change of the tagging plan or the objectives, without breaking the reading history
02

MMP and ad network integration

The technical setup that brings each postback where it has to be read.

  • MMP configuration: Adjust or AppsFlyer for SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit, the conversion value update call from the SDK
  • Postback copies: the NSAdvertisingAttributionReportEndpoint and AttributionCopyEndpoint keys in the Info.plist, to receive the winning postback directly
  • Ad networks: Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap and Apple Ads verified network by network, source identifier and campaigns read in the reports
  • AdAttributionKit: available since iOS 17.4, re-engagement since iOS 18, per-network attribution rules since iOS 18.4, coexisting with SKAdNetwork
  • QA: the iOS 18 Developer Mode, three-minute windows and postbacks within ten, and the ATT prompt sequenced with the CMP, detailed on the iOS Tracking page
03

Analysis and reporting

Aggregated, delayed data is read with method, next to the other sources.

  • SKAN dashboards: postbacks by network, window, crowd tier and value, in the MMP and in your BI
  • Reconciliation: Apple postbacks matched with the MMP attribution for consenting users and with the ad networks' reports, without double counting
  • Warehouse: postbacks loaded into BigQuery with your media costs and your sales, through our Modern Data Stack offer
  • Cohorts: the value of installs per campaign at 2, 7 and 35 days, read window by window
  • Incrementality: when attribution is not enough to arbitrate a budget, a geo-lift or Causal Impact test with our Advanced Media Measurement offer

The tool

SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit, our reading

SKAdNetwork is Apple's ad attribution framework for apps, part of StoreKit since iOS 11.3, in version 4 since iOS 16.1. It attributes an install or a conversion to an ad without any user or device identifier, through a postback signed by Apple sent to the ad network, and copied to the advertiser who asks for it. The app declares a conversion value, fine from 0 to 63 in the first postback, coarse afterwards, over three windows, days 0 to 2, 3 to 7 and 8 to 35, and the postback leaves with a random delay of 24 to 48 hours, up to 144 for the next two.

AdAttributionKit is its successor, available since iOS 17.4: the same model, plus alternative marketplaces, re-engagement since iOS 18 and configurable attribution rules since iOS 18.4. Both coexist in the same app, with a single winner. Apple writes "Use AdAttributionKit for app ad campaigns" at the top of the SKAdNetwork documentation, without an end date. Neither requires the App Tracking Transparency prompt.

Updated September 2026

What these frameworks do very well: measure everyone, including those who decline

Since iOS 14.5, the advertising identifier requires the user's authorisation, and a share of installs becomes invisible to classic attribution. SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit measure those installs anyway: the device keeps the impression, records the install, and sends a postback signed by Apple to the winning network. No identifier travels, and the network cannot fabricate the figure, the signature makes sure of it. For the advertiser, it is the only measurement that covers all iOS users, and it holds on the App Store as on alternative marketplaces with AdAttributionKit.

What they really are: aggregated data, whose granularity you decide

The postback does not say who installed nor on which device. It carries a conversion value, and that value is what your app chose to declare: a revenue bracket, a key event, an engagement level, coded on 64 values for the first window and on three levels for the next ones. Apple then adjusts the granularity to the crowd tier: few installs on a campaign, little detail in the postback. The conversion value schema is therefore the decision that matters, and it is taken before the first campaign, with the media teams and the MMP, which carries it in its Conversion Hub or Conversion Studio.

Adjust, the MMP that carries the schema

Where they stop: 35 days, a delay, and nothing on organic

Measurement stops on day 35, arrives 24 to 48 hours after the end of each window, and ignores organic installs, which the MMP computes by subtraction. A conversion value outside the signature remains alterable by the network, hence the interest of receiving the postback copy yourself. To steer an iOS budget, these postbacks are read next to the MMP attribution for consenting users, in a warehouse that crosses them with your costs and your sales. And when two networks claim the same install, only an incrementality test settles it: that is what our Advanced Media Measurement offer brings.

Our Advanced Media Measurement offer

Sources : Receiving postbacks in multiple conversion windows, Apple documentation · AdAttributionKit and SKAdNetwork interoperability, Apple documentation

Our expert notes : AdAttributionKit, ad campaign tracking on iOS 18 · Google Ads, the wbraid and gbraid parameters

Frequently asked questions about SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit

What is SKAdNetwork (SKAN)?

Apple's API that attributes an app's installs and conversions to an ad without identifying the user. The device sends the ad network a postback signed by Apple, with a conversion value the app declared, over three windows and up to 35 days. Version 4 has been available since iOS 16.1.

What is AdAttributionKit?

The framework that succeeds SKAdNetwork, available since iOS 17.4. The same postback and conversion value mechanics, plus alternative marketplaces, re-engagement since iOS 18 and per-network attribution rules since iOS 18.4. Both coexist in an app with a single winner, and Apple recommends AdAttributionKit for new campaigns.

What is the difference between SKAN and classic MMP attribution?

MMP attribution works at device level, with the advertising identifier when the user allows it, and returns an immediate, detailed result. SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit work in aggregate: no identifier, a coded value, a 24 to 144 hour delay, a granularity that depends on volume. The MMP brings the two readings together and deduplicates.

Do you need the App Tracking Transparency prompt to use SKAdNetwork?

No. Apple documents that SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit work whatever the tracking status: they touch neither the advertising identifier nor any user-linked data. The ATT prompt remains necessary for device-level attribution and for any linking of data across companies. Most apps combine the two.

Why do postbacks arrive with a delay?

It is a privacy protection. Each conversion window closes, then Apple adds a random delay, 24 to 48 hours for the first postback and 24 to 144 hours for the next two, so that a postback cannot be tied to a precise moment. Locking a window as soon as the signal is acquired shortens the wait, without removing the delay.

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Paul Schmitt

Paul Schmitt

Consulting Director

"Our goal is to make your data actionable to generate concrete value, quickly."

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