Raw data content restriction—media source or user identifiers

At a glance: Fields in some raw data reports are restricted due to privacy limitations. This article describes the restrictions and their implications. 

Raw data restriction

AppsFlyer restricts the availability of some fields in raw data reports data to preserve user privacy. This is in accordance with the advertiser's AAP setting or according to data sharing policies of the self-reporting networks (SRNs) that provide the data. The restrictions differ depending on the report type and the restriction reason. The restrictions affect raw data provided using raw data delivery tools.

Media source restrictions

The following table lists restrictions per media source. 

 Note

  • Aggregated and analytics data from the AppsFlyer platform is available without limitation.
  • Postbacks aren't sent to third-party platforms, such as analytics and marketing platforms.
Media source Attribution type
Meta ads
  • Until October 28, 2021: View-through
  • Starting October 29, 2021: Click-through and view-through. But, if you enable the Google Play Install Referrer mechanism some click-through data is made available to you. Note that Google Play Install Referrer is not applicable to retargeting campaigns.
Pinterest Click-through and view-through attribution
Roku OneView Click-through and view-through for all platforms (CTV and mobile)
Samsung DSP Click-through and view-through for all platforms (CTV and mobile)
Snapchat
  • In some cases, when attribution is done via the advanced SRN integration, Snapchat doesn't allow raw data to be made available on the AppsFlyer platform. This includes the attribution fields:
    • Media source (restricted)
    • Campaign, Adset, Ad (null or empty)
  • Starting March 1, 2023, Snapchat Uninstalls aren’t included in the raw data reports

TikTok for Business

  • Between July 28, 2021, and October 23, 2021, view-through attribution data is restricted.
  • Starting October 23, 2021, view-through attribution is limited. The following fields are populated in raw data delivery tools:
    • Media source (bytedanceglobal_int and tiktokglobal_int)
    • Channel
    • Attributed touch type (impression)
    • Attributed touch time (reported as date only - "dd/mm/yyyy")
    • Campaign is reported as "restricted"
Twitter

In some cases, Twitter doesn't allow raw data to be made available on the AppsFlyer platform. In these cases, the events don't appear in raw data reports. 

Raw data context

Field-level restriction of raw data depends on the context of the data, as listed in the table that follows.

Restriction type Reports impacted
Restricted media source: Where the user came from
  • Attribution: Installs, retargeting conversions, uninstalls
  • In-app events, sessions
  • Protect360 reports

Fully restricted

  • Clicks
  • Impressions
  • Blocked clicks (Protect360)

Delivery of raw data

User-level attribution data in AppsFlyer is available using the following raw data delivery tools:

  • Data Locker
  • Raw data Pull API
  • Push API
  • Dashboard export page
  • Postbacks to networks
  • Get conversion data (GCD) API in the context of the client-side user-level data API

Unavailable attribution fields

The following fields are unavailable when the media source is restricted:

Display name API name
Ad af_ad
Ad ID af_ad_id
Ad type af_ad_type
Adset af_adset
Adset ID af_adset_id
Attribution lookback window af_attribution_lookback
Campaign ID af_c_id
Channel af_channel
Cost currency af_cost_currency
Cost model af_cost_model
Cost value af_cost_value
Keywords af_keywords
Partner af_prt
Site ID af_siteid
Sub site ID af_sub_siteid
Sub param [n] (n=1-5) af_sub[n] (n=1-5)
Attributed touch time attributed_touch_time
Attributed touch type attributed_touch_type
Campaign campaign
Contributor [n] media source (n=1-3) contributor[n]_af_prt
(n=1-3)
Contributor [n] partner (n=1-3) contributor[n]_campaign
(n=1-3)
Contributor [n] campaign (n=1-3) contributor[n]_match_type (n=1-3)
Contributor [n] match type (n=1-3) contributor[n]_media_source (n=1-3)
Contributor [n] touch time (n=1-3) contributor[n]_touch_time
(n=1-3)
Contributor [n] touch type (n=1-3) contributor[n]_touch_type
(n=1-3)
Deeplink URL deeplink_url
HTTP referrer http_referrer
Install app store install_app_store
Keyword ID keyword_id
Keyword match type keyword_match_type
Match type match_type
Network account ID network_account_id
Original URL original_url
Re-engagement window af_reengagement_window
Store product page store_product_page

Identifier restriction

When identifier restriction applies, the fields listed in the table that follows are the only fields available in the raw data reports. 

API name
event_time
event_name
event_revenue
event_revenue_currency
event_revenue_usd
af_cost_model
af_cost_value
af_cost_currency
event_source
media_source
af_channel
campaign
af_c_id
af_adset
af_adset_id
af_ad
af_ad_id
af_ad_type
af_siteid
af_sub_siteid
app_id
app_name
bundle_id
is_retargeting
retargeting_conversion_type
is_primary_attribution
af_attribution_lookback
af_reengagement_window
country_code
blocked_reason
blocked_reason_value
blocked_reason_rule
blocked_sub_reason
platform
is_paid_media

FAQ

How does the restricted media source impact raw data reports?

  • The media source field is populated with restricted.
  • The attribution fields listed in this article are either empty or populated with null

Report example: Installs restricted raw data in a CSV file. Other raw data reports are populated in a similar manner. 

What is the impact on postbacks to partners when the media source is restricted?

Postbacks sent to partners don't include attribution fields.

What about the data of assists that form part of the attribution?

Data related to assists is regarded as attribution data and isn't available.