iOS 14 FAQs

Preparing for iOS 14.5 Release

• What actions do Branch customers need to take to prepare for iOS 14?

• What happens if I do not make any updates to prepare for iOS 14?

• Do I need to update the Branch SDK for iOS 14?

• What should we do if we aren't ready in time for iOS 14.5?

General

• Why is Apple blocking device-level attribution in iOS 14?

• What led Branch to change position in January 2021 on the use of the App Tracking Transparency framework?

• Will Google do the same thing on Android by removing the GAID?

• Why do we still need an MMP?

• How do we structure our internal BI systems without IDFA?

• What's the difference between device-level and aggregate data?

• Do these privacy changes also impact tvOS, iPadOS, and macOS?

• If we enable SKAdNetwork, do we lose IDFA visibility unless the user opts into being tracked via AppTrackingTransparency?

Complying with Apple's Policy

• Are owned channels under the scope of Apple's new policy?

• Are organic/earned channels under the scope of Apple's new policy?

• Will Apple further tighten their policy language to prohibit measurement of earned/owned channels?

• What counts as an 'ad' and 'tracking' under Apple's policy language?

• Does Apple's new tracking policy block deep linking?

• Is tracking web-to-app ad conversions, such as affiliate networks, still allowed?

• Why is it not possible to get attribution for web-to-app campaigns if the user does not opt in via ATT?

• Can't we just use Branch tracking links in our ads and still get device-level data?

• How are boosted organic links treated? Are they subject to the ATT prompt?

• For app-to-app deep linking, how can Apple know the difference between an organic post and a paid link?

• Does Apple's new policy also apply to IDFVs?

• What impact will this have on retargeting campaigns on iOS?

• Can we send a user to mobile web from an ad and then pass through campaign data into the app via deep link?

• Can we use solutions like OneTrust to get user-level opt-in instead of ATT?

• iOS Browsers are technically apps. What's stopping iOS browsers like Chrome from showing the ATT prompt?

• Is ATT opt-in required for SKAdNetwork?

• What happens if users upgrade to iOS 14.5 but don't update to the version of our app with SKAN/ATT until later? Will that cause a policy violation?

• Is it a violation of Apple's policy to use the Branch SDK without ATT opt-in?

• How do I answer the App Store Connect Privacy Questions ("Nutrition Labels")?

Branch iOS 14 Product Details (General)

• Under Apple's new policy, what attribution methods will Branch use, and when?

• What impact will this have on non-ads parts of the Branch platform?

• Can we still use deferred deep linking in ads?

• Once a user opts-in to device-level tracking, can it be connected to that user’s previous activity before opt-in?

• Can I still track conversions through Quick Links with iOS 14?

• What happens after users opt in via the AppTrackingTransparency modal?

• Do I need to change change my Branch integration so that the Branch SDK only fires after the AppTrackingTransparency pop-up?

• Does Branch still capture IDFV for log level exports, 3rd party SDK, BI tools, CCPA, or GDPR compliance?

• Does the Branch SDK automatically trigger the AppTrackingTransparency prompt?

• What happened to Predictive Modeling? In which situations is it still an advantage?

• How is Branch's Predictive Modeling different from what other MMPs offer?

• Is Branch's SAN Deferred Deep Linking product impacted?

• What impact will this have on Branch's deep linking accuracy?

• Will Branch still be able to offer deterministic deep link matching on iOS?

• How will iOS 14 affect our MAU count on Branch?

• How do we handle GDPR compliance without IDFAs to request data deletion?

• How will Branch determine whether or not the user has opted into ATT?

• Will Branch support PCM or AEM?

• What do ad networks need to do to prepare for iOS 14?

• What will happen to reinstall tracking without IDFAs?

• If the user doesn't opt in via ATT, is it still possible to show an install came from 'paid advertising' without any additional detail?

• Will Branch still send event postbacks to ad networks for users who don't opt in under ATT?

• After iOS 14.5, what is the expected Branch functionality by link type?

• How do we track ATT opt-in/opt-out events with Branch?

• How do we configure a non-Ads link to use Branch's ATT-compliant behavior?

• Does Branch's 'second install' behavior on iOS require an SDK update, or will all the logic be handled server-side?

• Why did Branch remove the Organic checkbox from some dashboard pages?

Branch iOS 14 Product Details (SKAdNetwork)

• How do I change the length of the Branch SDK's default conversion-value update window?

• Will SKAdNetwork data be present in Branch exports?

• If the user installs from an SKAdNetwork campaign, will the Branch SDK still send events to Branch in parallel to sending conversions to Apple? Will that data be ‘organic’ in analytics and exports?

• Which ad networks support SKAdNetwork with Branch?

• Can we use server-to-server and CDP-synced events for SKAdNetwork conversion values?

• Will traffic from Branch's Custom Partners feature be subject to device-level limitations?

• Does Branch support the new view-through functionality in SKAdNetwork 2.2?

• What impact will iOS 14 have on Branch's Data Integrations?

• Will Branch be supporting additional conversion-value mapping strategies in future?

• What time is used for reporting SKAdNetwork-source data?

• What timezone does Branch's SKAdNetwork dashboard use?

• We don't want to authenticate for SKAN via App Store Connect. Is there another option?

• Can we connect more than one App Store app to a single Branch dashboard for SKAN data?

• What is the minimum Branch SDK version required for SKAN support?

• Are there any risks or downsides to enabling the SKAN functionality on the Branch dashboard?

• Can we use the Branch test environment with SKAN?

• Can we connect more than one Branch dashboard to a single App Store app for SKAN data?

• Is data available in the Branch SKAdNetwork dashboard retroactively?

• What App Store Connect permissions should be associated with API key that we use for SKAdNetwork authentication?

• Does Branch have a campaign-id → readable name mapping?

• Why don’t Opens and other down-funnel events show up in the Branch SKAdNetwork dashboard?

• Can we remove our App Store Connect info from the Branch dashboard after authentication?

• Can we use customer event aliases for SKAN conversion value mapping?

• Is there a minimum Branch SDK version required to support the View-Through Ad Impression tracking in SKAdNetwork 2.2?

• Can agencies view SKAN data on the Branch dashboard?

SKAdNetwork

• Will users who opt IN via AppTrackingTransparency also still be tracked via SKAdNetwork?

• If a user already has the app, will I receive SKAdNetwork conversion data?

• What is the best way to implement SKAdNetwork? What are the pros and cons of each?

• What happens if the advertiser app integrates multiple SDKs that all support SKAdNetwork?

• What happens if a user keeps doing in-app actions that extend the SKAdNetwork looping timer?

• Does SKAdNetwork provide any geographical information?

• Does SKAdNetwork require a value for the conversion-value parameter?

• Does SKAdNetwork provide any attribution for owned & organic installs?

• Am I limited to 100 campaign IDs per network or per app?

• In the SKAdNetwork postback, what are 'transaction-id' and 'attribution-signature'?

• Who defines the conversion-values values? How is it determined which value will be sent back?

• If a customer installs and purchases, how many postbacks will the advertiser get from Apple?

• For ad networks that support tracking links and SKAdNetwork, which should we use? Are there risks of duplicate attribution?

• What attribution windows does SKAdNetwork use?

• Does SKAdNetwork support view-through attribution?

• What are some best practices for our SKAdNetwork conversion-value strategy?

• Can we use conversion-value 0 in SKAdNetwork?

• With SKAdNetwork, how can we determine which creative is driving the most conversions?

• How does SKAdNetwork protect against fraud?

• Does the app need be active in order for SKAdNetwork postbacks?

• Does the app need be active in order for SKAdNetwork to update conversion values?

• How does Apple verify/deduplicate SKAdNetwork conversions?

• Why does SKAdNetwork limit view-through impressions to 15 per app? What does that mean?

• What is the difference between networks forwarding individual SKAN postbacks to Branch, rather than providing data via an API? Is one option better?

• What happens when we change our SKAN conversion value configuration? Why is there a 'cool-down period'?

• What are the SKAdNetwork privacy thresholds?

• Why is SKAdNetwork data delayed? What are the looping timers?

• Do we need to be a Ads subscriber to access Branch's SKAN functionality?

• With SKAdNetwork, are the install and conversion-value in the same postback or separate postbacks?

• If we update our SKAdNetwork conversion value mapping, do we need to release a new version of our app?

SKAdNetwork Troubleshooting

• How can I test SKAN once I have updated the iOS SDK and Branch dashboard configuration?

• I don't see SKAdNetwork campaign data in the Branch Sources dashboard

• I'm not seeing my event metadata in the Branch SKAdNetwork dashboard

• I updated my app for SKAdNetwork, but I do not see my test data in the Branch dashboard

• I'm seeing far fewer conversions than expected after updating my app for SKAdNetwork

• Can SKAdNetwork be tested via TestFlight?

• Why are my SKAN reinstall numbers so much higher than Branch usually shows?

AppTrackingTransparency

• Does the Branch SDK trigger the AppTrackingTransparency prompt?

• Is implementing the AppTrackingTransparency prompt mandatory for use of Branch?

• What is Branch's recommendation on implementing the AppTrackingTransparency prompt?

• What code do I need to add to show the AppTrackingTransparency prompt?

• Can I choose when to show the AppTrackingTransparency modal to the user?

• How can we optimize our AppTrackingTransparency opt-in rate?

• What happens if we can't/don't want to show the ATT prompt?

• What happens when users decline the ATT prompt?

• Is it possible to only surface the ATT prompt to users coming from paid ads?

• If the user declines the ATT prompt, can we send them to Settings to change it later?

• Does Apple have any restrictions on how/when we display the ATT prompt?

• What happens when a user installs an app, sees the ATT prompt, then deletes the app and reinstalls. Will they see the ATT prompt again?

• Do we need to show the ATT prompt to all iOS users, or only users on iOS 14.5+?

Private Click Measurement (PCM)

• What is PCM (Private Click Measurement) and what does it mean for mobile marketing?

• What is Facebook's Aggregated Event Measurement (AEM) and how is it different from Apple's PCM?

• Does PCM provide more than one postback per conversion?

Google & iOS 14

• What are Google's plans for iOS 14 changes?

• What does Google's iOS 14 stance mean for Branch advertisers?

• Do apps have to use the Firebase SDK for Google's SKAN support?

• Why is ACe called out specifically as being significantly impacted?

• Why will tROAS campaigns no longer be an option on iOS?

• Can Branch links still be used in Google ad campaigns?

• What's the difference between Google's 'modeled conversions' and Branch's Predictive Modeling?

• Will Google show the ATT prompt and provide device-level data for users that opt in?

• Does Branch support in-app conversion postbacks to ads via GBRAID?

• Is there currently any way to access SKAdNetwork data for Google campaigns?

• How will DoubleClick and DV360 campaigns be measured after ATT enforcement?

Facebook & iOS 14

• What are Facebook's plans for iOS 14 changes?

• Does Facebook require a separate ad account for iOS 14 campaigns?

• Will Facebook pass SKAdNetwork data back to MMPs (including Branch)?

• Can Branch links still be used in Facebook web campaigns?

• We have the Facebook SDK and Facebook is saying that we should use their SDK to make the SKAdNetwork calls. Is this required?

• We have both Facebook and Branch SDKs integrated. Which should we use for SKAdNetwork?

• Why does Facebook recommend not updating SKAdNetwork conversion-values after 24 hours?

• Will Facebook show the ATT prompt and provide device-level data for users that opt in?

• What event names will Facebook receive from Branch via the Conversion Bit Schema API?

• Does a user have to opt in to ATT via both the Facebook and Instagram apps?

• What changes is Facebook making to web campaign measurement?

• How do we set up the Facebook SKAN Conversion Bit Schema integration with Branch?

• Is Facebook planning to share SKAN conversion values with MMPs?

• Is Facebook's maximum of 8 conversion events only for web campaigns, or also for SKAdNetwork?

• We're trying to import our conversion schema for a new Facebook app, but the option is not available in Facebook

• We get a connection error when entering our Branch conversion schema URL on the Facebook dashboard

• I don't see the Facebook conversion value schema endpoint in my Branch dashboard. Why not?

Snap & iOS 14

• What are Snap's plans for iOS 14 changes?

• Will I need to change my campaign setup to maximize my performance on Snap?

• What can I do today to prepare my Snap campaigns as I await more tactical campaign updates?

• Will Snap show the ATT prompt and provide device-level data for users that opt in?

• What event names will Snap receive from Branch via the Conversion Bit Schema API?

• Why does Snap recommend not updating SKAdNetwork conversion-values after 24 hours?

Apple Ads & iOS 14

• When will the Branch SDK be updated to use the new AdServices API for Apple Ads?

• How will Apple Ads work on iOS 14? Will they use SKAdNetwork?

• Will Branch still show keyword-level breakdowns of Apple Ads data?

Other Networks & iOS 14

• What are Twitter's plans for iOS 14 changes?

• Will Twitter show the ATT prompt and provide device-level data for users that opt in?

• What are TikTok’s plans for iOS 14 changes?

• What are Pinterest’s plans for iOS 14 changes?

• Can ad networks still target ad campaigns using identifiers such as phone numbers, emails, names, etc.?

Other Troubleshooting

• Troubleshooting steps for deep links on iOS 14