Protect360 raw data reports

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Last update: October 07, 2024 00:01

At a glance: Raw data reports describe installs and in-app events blocked by the Protect360 engine, as well as from manually added Validation Rules.

About Protect360 raw data reports

Raw data reports:

Display data about:
- Clicks, installs, and in-app events identified as fraudulent by the Protect360 engine.
- Installs and in-app events identified via Validation Rules.
Include the block reason for each click, install, or in-app event.
Are used by advertisers to reconcile ad network accounts, for optimization, and to adjust attribution dashboards for post-attribution fraud.
May have some fields are restricted or not available if AppsFlyer Aggregated Advanced Privacy (AAP).
Report types and their availability by download, API, and Data Locker (S3 bucket) are described in the sections that follow.
Historical raw data report retention is up to 90 days, depending on the reporting tool and origin of the raw data.

Note

Due to raw data restrictions related to privacy, the raw reports may show fields with empty values. An example of this is the contributor fields.

Report types

Protect360 raw-data report types

Report	Description
Installs	Reports include: Fake installs: Installs identified as fraudulent by the Protect360 engine. These do not appear in any AppsFlyer dashboard or raw data, except for the Protect360 dashboard and raw data. Hijacked installs: Real user installs where attribution is stolen, but Protect360 corrects the attribution. Validation Rules: That either blocked the install or blocked the attribution (Protect360 corrects the attribution).
Post-attribution installs	Reports include installs attributed to a media source, but later found to be fraudulent. Protect360 corrects the attribution.
Blocked in-app events	Reports include in-app events from: Fake installs: IAEs are blocked. In-app events: Identified as fraudulent independent of the original installs. Validation Rules: IAEs from a rule that blocked the install or blocked attribution. IAEs from a rule that blocked the in-app event.
Post-attribution in-app events	Reports include in-app events: Identified post-attribution. Of installs attributed to a media source, but later found to be fraudulent.
Clicks	Reports include blocked clicks with the block reasons.
Blocked install postbacks	Reports include copies of the rejection postbacks sent to media sources bringing blocked installs.

Post-attribution reports

Post-attribution raw data fraud reports have the same structure as the blocked fraud reports.
The current month (by install date) post-attribution report continues to be updated until the seventh day of the following month (detection date).
Post attribution raw data reports are limited to advertisers. Agencies need permissions enabled to access.
Reports contain post-attribution fraud events identified by Protect360 and include all media sources in a single report. Note: If no post attribution fraud events are identified for the selected date range, the report returns empty,
Post-attribution raw data fraud reports are available as follows:
- Dashboard user interface: limited to one media source during one calendar month.
- Pull API: contains all media sources. (Limitation: Available to app owners only.)

Using post-attribution reports

Select any combination of install/IAE and detect date ranges as needed.
Take into consideration that Protect360 performs post-attribution detection during the calendar month of the install and up to the seventh day of the following month. This means, for example, that for installs in November, Protect360 checks for fraud up to December 7.
The best practice for using this Pull API is as follows:
- Assume you pull the report on a daily basis.
- Set the install date range to 60 days looking back from the current day.
- Set the detect-from/detect-to range to the day before the current day.
  This means you will get the list of post-attribution frauds detected yesterday. If you didn't pull the report for a few days, adjust the detect date range, and pull the report.

Example

Example A: During December (install date) 15 installs are attributed to example_media. On January 3 (detection date), Protect360 identifies example_media as a fraudster. As a result, the 15 installs attributed to example_media are listed as fraudulent in the post-attribution fraud report for further action by the app owner.

Example B: During December, 15 installs are attributed to example_media. On January 9, Protect360 identifies example_media as a fraudster. In this case, no action is taken by Protect360 because the fraudster was identified after the month close on January 7.

Raw data availability by tool type

Protect360 raw-data availability by tool type

Report	Data freshness	Pull API	Export Data page	Data Locker
Installs	Real-time	✓	✓	✓*
Blocked in-app events	Real-time	✓	✓	✓
Clicks	Real-time	✓	✓	✓
Blocked install postbacks	Real-time	-	✓	-
Post-attribution installs	Daily 10:00 UTC	✓	✓	✓*
Post-attribution in-app events	Daily 10:00 UTC	✓	✓	-
* Limitations to report via Data Locker: Agency transparency not supported. Meaning that agency-driven traffic does not contain the name of the media source sending the install. The report has a unique set of fields relative to other Data Locker reports. This list can't be changed. Retargeting data is not available in the Installs report; only in the Post-attribution installs report.

Getting raw data reports

Raw data reports are available by download, Pull API, and Data Locker (S3 bucket). You can also give partners access to reports.

Download

To download:

In the Protect360 dashboard, go to Raw data reports > Blocked or Post-attribution.
- For post-attribution reports, select the media source and month.
Select the Protect360 & Validation Rules report to download.

In the AppsFlyer dashboard, go to Export Data.
Select the Protect360 & Validation Rules report to download.

Note: Reports downloaded from the Export Data page contain all media sources.

Pull API

To download raw data reports available by Pull API:

Before you begin:

You need a Pull API token. Get the token from an admin user.

Go to Report > API Access.
The Pull API page opens.
In the Protect360 fraud reports section, select the necessary Pull API call.
Populate the parameters as required. The table that follows lists the parameters.
Pull the report.

Pull API raw data report parameters

Parameter	Description	Format	Mandatory
app_id	App ID as it appears in AppsFlyer	String	Yes
api_token	Retrieve the key from the Dashboard. Go to Report > API Access. Only an admin user can retrieve the API token.	String	Yes
from	Start of the date range: For installs, this is the install date. For in-app events, this is the date of the event.	YYYY-MM-DD	Yes
to	End of the date range: For installs, this is the install date. For in-app events, this is the date of the event.	YYYY-MM-DD	Yes
event_name	[Optional for Post-attribution in-app events fraud] Filter events by in-app event. Limit the report to specific events. One or more events can be included. Example usage: `&event_name=af_purchase,af_login`	String	No
additional_fields=rejected_reason_value	[Optional for Post-attribution in-app events fraud] rejected_reason_value displays the valid contributor (media source) for hijacked installs/in-app events. Populated with either contributor[1-3] or organic.	String	No
detect-from	[Optional for Post-attribution installs] Start of the fraud detect date range. (Default is from.) (Used in Post-attribution install fraud.) (Used in Post-attribution install fraud.)	YYYY-MM-DD	No
detect-to	[Optional for Post-attribution installs] End of the fraud detection date range. (Default is to.)	YYYY-MM-DD	No

Data Locker

Data Locker writes raw-data to an AWS S3 bucket.

See list of available Protect360 reports.

See Data Locker configuration instructions.

Protect360 report structure

Protect360 reports have the same general structure as user acquisition reports fields.

In addition to the regular raw data report fields, Protect360 reports also have retargeting and blocked reason fields, as follows:

Blocked reasons

Click level blocked reasons

At the click level, clicks are blocked, and the attribution process ignores them.

Blocked reason	Description
ip_blacklist	Based on a dynamically created list (details)
invalid_fingerprint	S2S clicks only: Invalid parameters are sent by the source (for Probabilistic matching)
click_capping	Extremely high rates of click fraud are detected from that ad network. Learn more
click_signing	Signature on the click is not validated. Learn more
input_validation	Invalid media source name

Install level blocked reasons

At the install level, we identify enough info at the time of install to determine either:

A fake install, meaning the user installing the app is not a real person. In this case, the attribution is completely blocked.
Attribution hijacking, where the user is real but the engagement is falsified. In this case, the fraudulent engagement is blocked and attribution is re-assigned to the first valid contributing ad network.

The following tables list possible install level blocked reasons:

Install level: Fake install block sub reasons

Blocked reason	Blocked sub reason	Description
bots	fake_device_parameters	Non-human behavior detected in device-related parameters during the app installation process
bots	fake_install_parameters	Non-human behavior detected in install-related parameters during the app installation process
bots	bayesian_network	Bayesian network identification of fraudulent patterns
install_store_validation	-	Apple App Store install receipt validation failed
validation_bots	invalid_device_parameters	Specific device fields expectation mismatch - defined by the customer
validation_bots	validation_rules	Rules where the outcome is blocked installs based on manually defined validation rule
bots	ai_layer	AI models are utilized to analyze vast amounts of data points, enhancing detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent device and installation activities.

Install level: Attribution hijacking block sub reasons

Blocked reason	Blocked sub reason	Description
ctit_anomalies	short_ctit	Install blocked due to short CTIT: Protect360 defined
install_hijacking	referrer_hijack	Blocked hijacking attempt based on GooglePlay API and AppsFlyer SDK parameters
install_hijacking	integration_temporarily_blocked	Install blocked because the partner (pid) has extremely high fraud rates and significant anomalies in all their traffic
validation_hijacking	short_ctit	Install blocked due to short CTIT: Customer defined
validation_hijacking	empty_site_id	Install blocked due to unpopulated site ID. Rule implementation is phased
validation_hijacking	validation_rules	Rules where the outcome is blocked attribution based on manually defined validation rule

Cluster level blocked reasons

When a pattern of fraud is detected, the fraud source is denylisted. Installs from this denylisted source are blocked either because of:

A fake install, meaning the user installing the app is not a real person. In this case, the attribution is completely blocked.
Attribution hijacking, where the user is real but the engagement is falsified. In this case, the fraudulent engagement is blocked and attribution is re-assigned to the first valid contributing ad-network.

The following tables list possible cluster level blocked reasons:

Cluster level: Fake install block reasons

Blocked reason	Blocked sub reason	Description
bots	timestamp_anomalies	Anomalies related to attribution flow click times and other timestamps collected from the device
bots, site_blacklist	device_emulators	Installs generated on a large scale by automatic scripts working in virtual environments
site_blacklist	device_farms	High rates of unknown (new) devices
behavioral_anomalies	behavioral_anomalies	Suspicious in-app behavior compared to common app user behavior pattern

Cluster level: Attribution hijacking block reasons

Blocked reason	Blocked sub reason	Description
ctit_anomalies, install_hijacking	ctit_anomalies	Abnormal CTIT pattern per app standards
click_flood	click_flood	Abnormally high click volume across long CTIT distribution
install_hijacking	click_clusters	Clicks generated by a device-level malware

In-app level blocked reasons

In-app events can be blocked for the following reasons:

The initial install was identified as fake.
Because of a defined validation rule.
Because our algorithm detects fraud.

The following table lists possible in-app level blocked reasons.

In-app level block reasons

Blocked reason	Blocked sub reason	Description
Inherits from install	Inherits from install	Initial install identified as fake based on install or denylisted level reason
inapps_bots	fake_device_parameters	AppsFlyer algorithm detects fraud
in_app_store_validation	-	Receipt validation for in-app purchase fails.
validation_inapps	validation_rules	Based on manually defined validation rule

Retargeting

Protect360 raw data includes fraudulent installs and sessions from retargeting campaigns (known as re-attributions and re-engagements, respectively). Data displays using the event name and retargeting conversion type fields. They are marked as either an:

Install (applies to event name, but not retargeting conversion type)
Re-attribution
Re-engagement
Reinstall

Protect360 retargeting raw data is available for real-time blocks and fraud identified post attribution as follows:

Report	Export data	Pull API	Data Locker
Installs	✓*	✓*	-
Post-attribution installs	✓	✓	✓
* Re-engagement data not available

Hijacked installs attribution correction

For hijacked installs, AppsFlyer blocks attribution to the fraudulent network and instead attributes the last legitimate contributor source.

For hijacked installs use the rejected_reason_value field to identify the valid contributor (media source), meaning the contributor that should have originally received attribution.

The rejected_reason_value is populated with either contributor[1-3] or organic. Check the contributor[1-3] media source/partner fields to view the contributor details and reconcile.
If the contributor fields are not displayed in your report, they are available to be added from the Export data page.

Note: When hijacked installs are blocked in real-time, the correct attributions display in AppsFlyer dashboards and reports (not just Protect360). When hijacked installs are identified post-attribution, the correct attributions are displayed only in Protect360 raw data.

Traits and limitations

Trait	Remark
Inapps reports	The inapps reports don't include the contributor field. The contributor fields are available in the installs report only.
Empty values	Due to raw data restrictions related to privacy, the raw reports may show fields with empty values. An example of this is the contributor fields.