SKAdNetwork dashboard by AppsFlyer

At a glance: The SKAdNetwork overview dashboard provides iOS campaign attribution metrics reported by Apple SKAdNetwork and additional data points. Metrics reflect user activity during a measurement window with a default duration of 24 hours, beginning on the first app open.

SKAdNetwork attribution dashboard

The dashboard contains user acquisition campaign performance data reported via SKAdNetwork Infrastructure postbacks.

This data is further enriched with additional data points like clicks and cost.
Conversion value measurement settings are used to calculate metrics.
Data freshness:
- Daily.
- Postbacks received on a given day are processed at the end of the day UTC. Data is available by 08:00 UTC of the following day. Meaning Monday's postbacks are available on Tuesday morning.
- Due to SKAdNetwork timers, the average delay is 32-104 hours. Average 68 hours. (~ 3 days).

Related reading

SKAdNetwork dashboard view options

The dashboard offers different view options, as follows:

SKAd simulation uses data attributed by AppsFlyer.
Actual SKAd data collected, translated, and aggregated by AppsFlyer but attributed by Apple.

To select the view: In AppsFlyer, go to Dashboard > SKAdNetwork Overview, and select a view type: SKAd simulation or Actual SKAd data.

SKAd simulation view

The purpose of the simulator is to provide you with a sense of the value that you will get from SKAdNetwork, before actual iOS 14 data is available, based on your current data.

Use the dashboard as a guide to:

Understand what your app SKAdNetwork data is going to look like.
Uncover what you would like to measure using the conversion value.
Optimize your measurement and get ready to attribute within iOS 14.

The simulator makes use of existing app data in the AppsFlyer platform to mimic SKAdNetwork postbacks and displays the output in the dashboard.

SKAdNetwork simulation is available to all your iOS apps in AppsFlyer.

Simulation data

The default SKAdNetwork simulation setting is revenue measurement of up to $63 per user during the measurement window.
Experiment with different measurement configurations to find the configurations that provide the most actionable metrics for you.
You can make configuration changes easily and frequently and see their effect on your SKAdNetwork dashboard. Note! Configuration changes reflect in the dashboard as follows:
- SKAd simulation: 24-48 hours
- Actual SKAd data: 48-72 hours
Agency traffic rules:
- General: The media source reflects the agency name and not the actual media source name. This is the case for both transparent and non-transparent agencies.
- Exception: In the case of Facebook and Twitter, the actual media source name displays and not that of the agency.

Simulation data is based on your existing attribution data by anticipating the installs and events that will be attributed in SKAdNetwork using the following criteria:

Installs:
- Install type: app-to-app attribution, direct click to install.
- Attributed touch type: click
- Excluded installs (outside of the SKAdNetwork scope): Mobile web, view-through, deferred, owned media.
Events:
- Taking place during the SKAdNetwork measurement window.
- Mapped according to the active SKAdNetwork measurement configuration:
  - Conversion: Up to 6 in-app events as listed in the configuration
  - Revenue: The maximum revenue amount that can be recorded depends on the conversion value to the USD translation rate.
  - Engagement: Count the number of occurrences of a selected event.

Actual SKAd data view

[Data in this view will be available after the release by Apple of iOS 14]

The actual SKAd data view contains the data collected, translated, and aggregated by AppsFlyer, provided in the postback from the user iOS device.
The conversion value in the postback is set by the AppsFlyer SDK.

Using the dashboard

Filter options

Use filters to refine the information displayed.

Filters available
Filter	Remarks
Install date range	The attributed install date is assumed based on the time the postback is received. Statistically, if there are large numbers of installs, the inaccuracy is minor. Installs include redownloads.
Media source	The ad network attributed with the install
Campaign	Campaign name and ID as set by the ad network. AppsFlyer translates the postback campaign ID to that of the ad network.
Site ID	Source app displaying your ad. Use to analyze the apps most beneficial to you.
Geo	Territory or country
Install type	Installs Redownloads reported by the app store

Headline metrics


Metric	Remarks
Installs	Non-organic: Installs attributed to a media source Organic: Installs not attributed by SKAdNetwork or for which no postback was received from an ad network. Note! SKAdNetwork does not report installs if the user did not engage with an ad prior to the install. App Clips are attributed to organic. If the install type filter is set, the metric is filtered accordingly.
Touchpoints	Impressions and clicks reported by the ad network by click or API.
Revenue	Available when revenue mode is active. Divided between organic and non-organic revenue. Organic revenue is calculated as the revenue of all sources less non-organic revenue. To enable a like-to-like comparison, the duration of the post-install measurement window of organic and non-organic installs is the same.
Cost	Cost reported by the ad network.
Click-to-install rate	Click-to-install rate.
Adjacent period trend	Trend values in % indicate the change of the current metric relative to the metric of the previous equivalent period. For example, if the current period is May 1-10, the previous period is April 21-30.

Charts

The charts available depend on the selected measurement type.

Chart metric	Remarks
User acquisition by date	Dimensions available: Organic Non-organic
Touch to conversion	Views available: Touchpoint dimensions: Impressions Clicks Click-to-install rate
Installs by: Media source Campaign Site ID
Metric breakdown
Top events
Top countries

Metrics

Select metrics from those available.
Set the primary and secondary group by dimensions to drill down into performance metrics.

About the metrics table:

Use the table to compare the performance of campaigns and media sources.
Initially, the top 20 media sources display, sorted by the number of installs in descending order.
To sort the table, click on a column header. Click again to reverse the sort order.

Table metrics available
Metric	Revenue measurement	Conversion measurement	Engagement measurement	Formula/remarks
Installs	Y	Y	Y
Impressions	Y	Y	Y
Clicks	Y	Y	Y
Click-to-install rate	Y	Y	Y	Installs/Cicks * 100
Converted users	Y	Y	Y	Unique users performing the event
Converted users/Installs	Y	Y	Y
Revenue	Y			Ad revenue not included.
Cost	Y	Y	Y	Cost reported by the ad network
ROI	Y
ROAS	Y
eCPI	Y	Y	Y
In-app event metrics
In-app event name	af_skad_revenue	Set in SKAdNetwork settings.	Set in SKAdNetwork settings.
eCPA	Y	Y (up to 6 events)	Y
Event occurrences	Has the same value as converted users. The metric represents the number of unique users making a purchase.	The conversion event has the same value as converted users. The metric represents the number of unique users performing a given event.	The metric represents the number of times the event was performed by all users together.

AppsFlyer attribution vs. SKAdNetwork attribution

SKAdNetwork metrics differ from those available using the AppsFlyer attribution model. The table that follows enumerates the main causes.

Definitions:

Times: Assume the default measurement window of 24 hours.
SDK: AppsFlyer SDK embedded in the app.
Rules: AppsFlyer attribution model

Concept differences
Concept	SKAdNetwork	AppsFlyer attribution model
Attribution methodology supported	Apple SKAdNetwork for click-through attribution	AppsFlyer attribution model supports deterministic and probabilistic attribution. It includes support for: Mobile web View-through Click-through App Clips And more
Primary data source	SKAdNetwork postbacks SDK	SDK and associated solutions. Example: Server-to-Server events.
Data freshness	SKAdNetwork data freshness. Dashboard update within 84 hours of the install.	Real-time when the user launches and uses the app.
Time zone	UTC	App-specific time zone.
Install time	Derived from the iOS postback arrival time.	Reported by SDK.
Measurement window	User activity during a fixed measurement window [default 24 hours], starting with the app open.	Contains LTV data from the install date until the present. Use Cohort to view data limited to cohort day 0 or cohort day 1, or both together to view a measurement period that is comparable. Consider, cohort day 0 consists of less than 24 hours of activity. For example, a user installing at 18:00 on a given day has 6 hours of activity on cohort day 0.
Installs reported by	SKAdNetwork: Limited to non-organic installs and non-organic redownloads. SDK: All installs are reported. Only first-time installs are counted for metric purposes. Meaning reattributions are disregarded.	SDK reports all installs categorized using Rules into first-time installs and retargeting reinstalls (re-attributions).
Advertising granularity level	Campaign	Full hierarchy: Campaign, campaign ID, adset, ad. Addtional parameters, like channel and partner.
Redownloads vs. reinstalls	Redownloads relate to the actions of a given Apple ID user. They are not parallel to re-attributions.	Retargeting (re-engagements re-attributions) reflect in the Retargeting dashboard. They are not parallel to redownloads.

Metric differences
Metric	SKAdNetwork	AppsFlyer attribution model
Non-organic installs	Count of valid iOS postbacks received by AppsFlyer. Consider, AppsFlyer doesn't get the postbacks of ad networks that haven't completed SKAdNetwork integration with AppsFlyer. This can lead to undercounting of non-organic installs and increased organic installs.	Reported by SDK. Attributed to a media source. Counted using Rules.
Organic installs	SDK installs minus SKAdNetwork installs.	Reported by SDK. Not attributed to any media source. Counted using Rules.
Revenue	Non-organic: Revenue reported by SKAdNetwork postbacks. Organic: Revenue reported by SDK in-app events minus non-organic revenue.	Reported by SDK and server-to-server API.
Ad revenue	Not available	User-level ad revenue is attributed based on IDFV
ROI/ROAS	Revenue during the measurement window.	LTV Metrics of UA and retargeting campaigns.

SKAdNetwork attribution dashboard