Apple Search Ads adds support for SKAdNetwork, AdAttributionKit

Apple announced today that Apple Search Ads will be adding support for SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit, Apple’s new name for SKAdNetwork, on April 10. 

This is big news. 

Despite Apple launching SKAN almost 6 years ago and making it relevant for app marketers by introducing App Tracking Transparency 3 years ago in iOS 14.5, Apple Search Ads has until now only used the Apple Ads Attribution API to attribute app downloads resulting from its advertising campaigns. A core reason: Apple has maintained that SKAN is the way to accomplish privacy-safe mobile attribution when multiple parties are involved, including a third-party ad network, but Apple has first-party data rights with its own device and software users.

Now Apple is eating its own dogfood, in a sense, and enabling ASA measurement with the same yardstick it provides for the industry at large.

What we know so far:

• Adservices attribution (Apple Ads Attribution API) is not going away; Apple is adding SKAN/AAK
• SKAN support will go live on April 10, but it will take some time for postbacks to go live of course
• Apple now calls SKAdNetwork by the new name AdAttributionKit
• However, initial support is only for SKAN versions 1 through 3
• Support for the newest version of AAK (and presumably SKAN 4) will come later
• Apple will not forward SKAN postbacks to MMPs as most other networks do
• To see ASA SKAN postbacks in your MMP data, add an endpoint for Singular (supported in SKAN 3 and above)
• Apple is adding basic data mapping: associating the 4 placements that ASA supports (Search results, Search tab, Today tab, App listing pages)
• Singular will be able to support placement ROI because this placement is also available in the ASA campaign management API
• All ad platforms can register with AdAttributionKit to enable measurement on ASA

While there might be less hype and interest in SKAN than a year or two ago, SKAN and AAK is still a big factor in deterministic marketing measurement on iOS. In fact, Apple said today that SKAN covers 77% of all referral-based conversions to the App Store.

So why is Apple doing this?

Likely a big part of the reason is that antitrust authorities around the world have investigated whether Apple’s implementation of ATT violates antitrust laws. 

In fact, France just fined Apple $162 million, saying that App Tracking Transparency privileges Apple and punishes third-party developers, especially smaller ones. In addition, in February, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office expressed concerns that Apple’s ATT framework could violate competition laws … that ATT could constitute “self-preferencing,” since Apple’s own services have not been subject to the same tracking restrictions as third-party developers.

Whatever the reason, it’s a major positive sign.

This is relatively breaking news: expect updates and further insight here as we learn more.