Partner activation/deactivation

For:

Marketers Agencies Ad Networks

Last update: March 23, 2023 10:46

At a glance: Activate or deactivate partner integrations, allowing or denying getting data and performing actions for the different features.

Active partners

An active partner integration means that at least one of the features in the table below is turned on.

Integration features

Feature	Description
Integration > Activate partner	Enables conversions to be attributed and postbacks to be sent to partners
Cost (when applicable)	Enables getting data on cost, clicks, and impressions for your campaigns, adsets, ads, and geos/countries
Ad revenue	Enables getting data on revenue from your ads
SKAN (when applicable)	Enables getting SKAN postbacks from partners
Permissions	Enables granting permissions for ad networks and agencies to access your data and perform actions in your integration

Note

Each feature runs individually, regardless of the state of Activate partner toggle in the partner Integration tab.

Activating a partner

Search for and select the partner, either from the marketplace or from the Configuration > Active integrated partners page.
From the Integration tab, turn on Activate partner.
Click Save Integration.

To activate a new partner integration, see here.

Caution

Don't use the Activate partner setting to pause or end campaigns. Doing so could cause irreversible damage to active campaign measurement.

Effect of the partner activation setting

Scenario	Activate partner: On	Activate partner: Off
Attribution and postbacks for new installs	Attribution: Yes Postbacks: Yes	Attribution: No Postbacks: No
Attribution and postbacks for new engagement events (installs, re-engagements, and re-attributions)	Attribution: Yes Postbacks: Yes	Attribution: No Postbacks: No Exception: non-SRNs with engagements prior to deactivation, as documented later in this table
Attribution and postbacks for engagement events (installs, re-engagements, and re-attributions) prior to deactivation	Not applicable	Attribution: Yes Postbacks: No
Ad clicks	Display under the partner's name in aggregate data but aren't used as a basis for attribution
Engagement (click) and install occur after deactivation	Not applicable	Attributed either to: Organic To a prior engagement, if within the lookback window
Engagement (click) occurs before deactivation; install occurs after deactivation	Not applicable	SRN partners (such as Meta ads or Google Ads): the deactivated partner is not attributed. Non-SRN partners: install and post-install events are attributed to the partner. No postbacks are sent. In the days following deactivation, the number of attributed installs from the partner drops sharply, but may not stop completely until the end of the partner lookback window (usually 7 days.
SKAN attribution	Not applicable. When SKAN attribution is configured, SKAN data is recorded whether Activate partner is turned on or off.

Who can activate partners

Partner integrations can be activated by marketers and agencies in accordance with the table that follows.

Activated by	SRN	Non-SRN
Marketer	Activates for self-use and on behalf of agencies	Activates for self-use
Agency	Can't activate	Activates agency-appointed non-SRNs

Deactivated partners

Deactivating just the Activate partner toggle means partners don't get conversion attribution and postbacks aren't sent to them. However, any of the other integration features, when still activated, continue to operate even after the Activate partner toggle is deactivated. This means that the integration is still Active and data may still be collected.

Deactivating a partner

Search for the partner you want to deactivate, either from the marketplace or from the Configuration > Active integrated partners page.
From the Integration tab, turn off Activate partner.
To completely deactivate the partner, go through each of the integration features in other tabs, and disable all capabilities.

Note

For Google and Meta ads, to stop recording SKAN data, go to the SKAN tab and delete the connection.
Click Save Integration.
[Optional] After saving the integration, while remaining on the configuration page, you can deactivate the partner from other apps:
1. From the top-left corner, under the partner name, click the app name to open the list of apps.
2. Select a different app from the drop-down list.
3. Repeat steps 2-4.

Deactivate unused integrations

Partners whose Activate partner setting remains on after you stop running campaigns with them continue to receive postbacks containing campaign data. This can cause data privacy issues.

To help you identify these partners and remind you to deactivate them, a notification displays at the top of the App integrations page. This message indicates the number of partners that have had no recent conversions. Account users can only see this message for partners they are allowed to edit.

Partners with permissions to configure integrations don't see the deactivation message.
Agencies see the message but can only deactivate their own integrations.

To view the list of unused partners and deactivate selected partners:

Go to Configuration > Active integrated partners.
In the warning message at the top of the page, click Review and deactivate.
The list of partners displays.
Select the partners to deactivate.
Click Deactivate.
This turned off only the Activate partner toggle.

Alternatively, a partner can be deactivated by turning off Activate partner on its Integration tab.

Note

Marketers should also take note of how their platform handles partner deactivation in certain scenarios. Similarly, marketing and analytics partners that require postbacks must be activated.

Partner and Agency dashboards

Partners and agencies have different dashboard views and configuration options, according to their permissions.

Partner visibility

Partners view the Activate partner setting in read-only mode. This is the case even if the partner has permission to configure the integration.
Visibility of partner settings depends on whether it was the marketer or the agency who configured the integration, as detailed in the following table:

Integration configured by	Setup visible to partner
Marketer	Yes
Agency	No

Agency permissions

You can grant agencies permission to work with your app and run traffic on your behalf.

To grant agency permissions to an app:

In AppsFlyer, go to Configuration > Active integrated partners.
Select the agency.
Go to the Permissions tab.
Enable Agency Permissions.
[Optional] Grant the agency additional permissions.
The agency is able to activate media sources as follows:
- Non-SRNs: the agency can set the Activate Partner setting in the integration tab.
- SRNs: the marketer activates the Activate Partner setting in the integration tab. If the marketer deactivates the SRN, installs aren't attributed to the agency from that SRN.

Disabled agency permissions

When permissions are disabled for agencies:

The agency can't access the app on the AppsFlyer dashboard.
New installs and events are not attributed to the agency.
Postbacks are not sent to the media sources used by the agency.
New events from conversions prior to disabling the agency are attributed and displayed in the marketer's dashboard, but postbacks are not sent to the media sources.

Note: If the marketer disables agency permissions, the agency's historical data (such as installs and cost) becomes non-transparent.

The following examples describe what happens to traffic that continues to be sent after a marketer removes agency permissions:

Example 1

Agency campaign with a non-SRN (attribution link partner)

The traffic is attributed to organic, or to a prior engagement if still within its lookback window. The agency is not attributed.

This example is also applicable to scenarios in which AppsFlyer receives click-through attribution links as well as querying the partner’s API

Example 2

Agency campaign with an SRN (attribution link partner)

The traffic is attributed to the SRN on the marketer's dashboard, but not attributed to the agency.