Measurement and attribution
What is fingerprinting in mobile attribution?
Short answer
Fingerprinting matches an app install to an earlier click by combining signals such as IP address, device model and operating system version, instead of a real identifier. Apple’s rules forbid fingerprinting for tracking, even when the user has agreed to tracking, and privacy regulators look at it closely.
How it works, and why it’s shaky
When someone taps a link, a few device traits are recorded. When the app opens for the first time, the same traits are collected again and compared. If they look alike, the install is credited to that click.
On shared Wi-Fi, a busy mobile network or a popular phone model, many people look alike. The match is a guess, and the guess gets worse as more people tap at the same time.
What to use instead
Signals that carry proof: the Google Play install referrer, App Store campaign links for aggregate numbers, click IDs from ad platforms, and link opens that an SDK confirms inside the app. Each one either names the source exactly or reports in aggregate, without pretending to know a person it can’t see.
Related terms
- Mobile attribution
Mobile attribution is working out which ad, campaign or link brought an app install or an in-app action, such as a sign-up or a purchase. It can be deterministic, based on a click ID, the install referrer or the link that opened the app, or probabilistic, based on statistical matching.
- Deferred deep link
A deferred deep link is a deep link whose destination survives the app install. Someone without the app taps it, goes to the store, installs, and on first launch the app opens the screen the link promised, such as a product, an invite or a promo code, instead of the home screen.
- Install referrer
The install referrer is the referrer value from a Google Play link, which Google Play passes to your app after installation through the Play Install Referrer API. The app reads it once on first run, and it stays available for 90 days. It gives deterministic install attribution on Android; the App Store has no equivalent.
One link for every phone
Create a free smart link and QR code that sends iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play and desktops to your website.