From the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) to the AdAttributionKit: What is Apple doing for advertisers and app developers?

When Apple first rolled out the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework with the iOS14.5 release in April 2021, the initiative enabled users to have more control over how applications and websites owned by different companies tracked them. This meant apps on iOS are required to request user permission via a pop-up prompt to access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) to track the user (specifically, the device). When a user opts out of tracking, apps are denied access to IDFA making it challenging to track users across platforms.

Since then, antitrust and competition watchdogs in Europe (namely in Italy, Germany and Poland) have launched investigations into Apple’s practices, broadly to probe for Apple’s alleged abuse of a dominant position in the app market. The main suspicion last brought about in Italy last year was that Apple applies a more “restrictive” privacy policy to app developers than what they would apply to themselves.

These investigations are looking into whether Apple is using its power over the platform to hobble competitors while potentially violating antitrust laws with some of their policies. Critics of the ATT framework argue that it not only allies privacy-minded users but could be used as a competitive weapon to advance their own advertising purposes.

This caused a main point of contention for ad attribution, as it significantly altered the way advertisers assessed the effectiveness of their campaigns — transforming the mobile advertising ecosystem. While it was the clear marker towards protecting user privacy, app developers and marketers who relied on long-held iOS advertising strategies had to get back to the drawing board. Without cookies and device identifiers amongst numerous other technologies, advertisers won’t get to utilise these tools to determine which marketing efforts were paying off.

What does Apple’s ad attribution framework mean for advertisers?

Like most of Apple’s own framework, their own apps are rarely subject to the same stringent regulations that they subject other apps and third-party app marketplaces to. This shift towards ATT has resulted in advertisers, marketers and app developers to find other avenues to collect data.

Firstly, cutting off the ability to collect user behaviour data has meant that they lose granular insights and thus face challenges in performance management, which could inform campaign decisions and resource management. Shifting to first-party data directly would also require a pivot in engaging direct communication with their users.

Going back to the basics of relying on cookies would result in a less accurate tracking and attribution. Advertisers may need to adjust their ad spending and could end up increasing their ad expense into more precise or privacy-friendly ways of measuring success, like contextual advertising or working with partners who follow Apple’s privacy guidelines.

Subsequently, how will this affect the alternative app marketplace? This is tricky, as Apple has already appealed to one stakeholder that is also relevant to its competitors, and that is its users. So far, Apple has shored up confidence that their frameworks remain the most secure marketplace for users. While this may seem attractive to them, Apple as a behemoth has shrouded competitors, limiting choices and stifling innovation.

In the three years since, the ATT framework has evolved with advertiser needs. Apple’s most recent AdAttributionKit (AAK), released in March of this year with iOS17.4 is purported to measure the success of ad campaigns while maintaining user privacy.

The AdAttributionKit (& its predecessor)

In its development stages, the AdAttributionKit was being reported to be a tool to support alternative app marketplaces, in a bid for Apple’s response to comply with the European Commissions’ Digital Markets Act (DMA). So it was a surprise when Apple unveiled at the 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) that instead of running parallel with the SKAdNetwork (SKAN), it was going to take over its 5th iteration, with the AAK running throughout all of Apple.

SKAN was developed as a framework to enable advertisers to evaluate the performance of their campaigns without personal data. In contrast with the direct User ID tracking, SKAN collects information on a higher level, providing a privacy-friendly approach to attribute the app installed and in-app events. While SKAN will eventually sunset, Apple has assured app marketers that AAK has been built on familiar functionality of SKAN 4.0 and the two systems will remain interoperable.

This unified system standardising ad attribution across both the App Store and alternative app markets was driven by the DMA, a new regulation which encourages multiple app stores for market competition. A key feature of the AAK is that it will have a “marketplace identifier” to show where an app is installed from, and the much-requested re-engagement support. Re-engagement is to bring users back to the advertised app, directing users to a specific screen in the app via a universal link.

On top of the traditional static image ads, AAK ads are audio, visual and interactive, supporting different types of ads:

1. Clickable custom creatives — ads designed to encourage engagement and clicks
2. View-through ads — ads that are video-based and based on a different engagement metric
3. In-ad app store features — ads that show app listings directly within the ad, also known as recommendations.

Finally, advertisers and marketers are after the most important thing when it comes to a marketplace: conversion values. With the AAK, advertisers can configure up to 64 conversion values to capture user engagements such as account creation or in-app purchases.

The DMA is working to implement regulation that would make Apple more specific about the processes it uses when reviewing apps, along with any fees associated that app makers can expect. All of this transparency may lead to a greater scrutiny of Apple’s conduct, revealing some hidden biases or double standards when it comes to lists and norms on its App Store. The act will foster improved innovation and a more competitive environment in the app marketplace. Where smaller developers could gain a better chance to compete against larger companies, ultimately resulting in a more varied and innovative app ecosystem.