In the mobile marketing world, Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy restricted data tracking without user consent, effectively eliminating clean data for advertisers. In response, Apple introduced its own solution: SKAdNetwork (SKAN). Its primary purpose is to enable measurement of ad campaign performance by anonymising data without sharing personal information.
The most important feature of SKAN is its ability to provide data regardless of ATT status. Even if a user does not grant tracking permission, it is still possible to determine which channels the ads originated from.
Understanding SKAdNetwork: 4 Key Concepts
To understand how SKAdNetwork (SKAN) works and under what conditions it can provide accurate data, we need to grasp the following four concepts.
1. Crowd Anonymity
Crowd Anonymity is the mechanism Apple uses to protect user privacy. Imagine you've created a campaign and want to see its conversion data. If the number of users who clicked on the campaign and generated a conversion falls below Apple's anonymity threshold, fields such as source, medium, and campaign will be returned in a redacted form. This ensures that individual user behaviour cannot be tracked.
As the crowd anonymity level increases, more detailed attribution data becomes available. In other words, the higher the volume of conversions from a campaign, the richer the data you receive.
2. Last Click Attribution
SKAN uses the last click attribution model by default. This means that even if a user interacts with multiple ads, attribution is given only to the last ad that was clicked. Interactions from other channels — clicks, impressions, and so on — are not included. As a result, the contribution of intermediary channels is lost in the attribution process.
3. Only Works in Safari
The SKAN attribution process works exclusively within the Apple ecosystem. It only operates in Safari and within iOS app environments. This is because Apple's privacy framework is enforced solely within its own operating system and browser environment. Consequently, cross-browser attribution is not possible with SKAN.
4. Provides Data Regardless of ATT
SKAN provides attribution data whether or not ATT permission has been granted. Even if a user declines the ATT prompt, SKAN still delivers anonymous, aggregate attribution data. This way, ad performance can be measured while user privacy is preserved.
Summary
SKAdNetwork is Apple's privacy-first framework for mobile ad attribution. While it introduces certain limitations — such as last click only attribution, Safari-only support, and crowd anonymity thresholds — it remains a critical tool for advertisers operating within the iOS ecosystem. Understanding these four pillars is essential for correctly interpreting your SKAN data and optimising your mobile marketing campaigns.