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# What Is SKAdNetwork (SKAN)?

SKAdNetwork is Apple's privacy-preserving app ad attribution framework. It reports eligible installs and later activity through limited postbacks.

Source: https://usehardal.com/glossary/skadnetwork

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SKAdNetwork is Apple's framework for measuring eligible app advertising results without giving advertisers a person-level trail. Apple determines attribution and sends signed postbacks with limited information about the ad and resulting app activity. It can work when a person has not authorized cross-app tracking through App Tracking Transparency.

## How does it work?

An eligible ad interaction can be linked to an app install. The advertised app may then update a conversion value to summarize permitted activity after the install. Apple sends postbacks after a privacy delay. The amount of detail available depends on the framework version and privacy conditions, so a low-volume campaign may receive a coarser result.

The conversion value is a compact code, not a full event log. Advertisers choose a mapping between values and outcomes, such as signup or purchase, then document that mapping before comparing campaigns.

## What are the limits?

SKAdNetwork helps compare campaigns, but its delayed and limited postbacks cannot reconstruct each person's journey. Advertisers should not treat a missing field as proof that no conversion happened. They should also avoid publishing a fixed install threshold or delay as if Apple guarantees one for every campaign.

Apple's newer AdAttributionKit builds on this privacy-preserving approach and supports additional attribution scenarios. Check the framework and version used by each network before designing reports around its postback fields.

## How Hardal handles it

Hardal's [mobile app tracking](https://usehardal.com/mobile) supports SKAdNetwork alongside first-party app events, so you can read SKAN postbacks next to the in-app activity you measure directly. For postback timing, conversion value mapping and privacy thresholds in detail, read the full [SKAdNetwork (SKAN) guide](https://usehardal.com/skadnetwork-skan-guide).

**Related terms:** [App Tracking Transparency](https://usehardal.com/glossary/app-tracking-transparency), [Web-to-app](https://usehardal.com/glossary/web-to-app), [Attribution](https://usehardal.com/glossary/attribution)