AppsFlyer & SKAdNetwork: Empowering marketers to thrive in a privacy-centric marketplace

The last few months has seen the tech industry abuzz with news of the latest privacy updates by Apple. It is being viewed as a game-changer for both customers and brand marketers alike. While end-users may be welcoming these updates favorably, mobile marketers on the other hand are scratching their heads. Apple, in the recent past, has been working on providing enhanced privacy measures for its customers, letting them choose if they want to be “tracked” by businesses, eventually kick-starting a marketing tech industry shift: one that would be championing a privacy-centric marketplace.

While this may be viewed as a win for some, it has become a cause of confusion and worry for mobile businesses. Just as this development presents a more private experience for Apple end-users, a complicated future confronts brands, advertisers, and marketers. Simply put, the status quo of marketing measurement may be turning obsolete sooner than later.

Understanding the barriers

The bigger changes that come with the update can be seen in Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATTF), which covers the brand’s privacy and data sharing policies. With the new update, Apple’s users are required to give permissions to apps to collect, share and use their data. Apple has also been enforcing a Tracking Transparency Prompt in the Apple Store, and apps that don’t accept the prompt can be blocked. These new rules manifest themselves in a pop-up that appears when a customer downloads an app from the store. This pop-up, in turn, asks users if they want the app to “track” their use across websites and other apps. Prior to this update, around 70 percent of Apple users were sharing their unique Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) with apps, which is now slated to drop to 10 percent.

But privacy need not be a hindrance, as brands fear. With the right partner and technology by their side, these challenges can be turned into opportunities.

Succeeding in a privacy-centric market

Keeping the recent changes in mind, SaaS mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform AppsFlyer is ready with smart solutions for marketers. User privacy has always been an essential part of AppsFlyer’s DNA, finding a place for itself in its four-core pillars. In tune with this belief, the team has adopted the strictest privacy and security standards for themselves, while being ready for an increasingly privacy-centric marketplace. Reiterating this, Oren Kaniel, CEO, AppsFlyer, wrote in his blog, “AppsFlyer is a first-party software-as-a-service used by app developers and advertisers as a CRM. AppsFlyer allows them to manage, analyze, and secure their first-party end-user data, while complying with privacy regulations and platform policies, such as the ones recently introduced by Apple.”

To prepare for a post-iOS 14 world, AppsFlyer spent the last twelve months developing and testing solutions that cater to a more privacy-centric marketplace. Innovating the SKAdNetwork, one of the critical tools for iOS ad attribution, was essential in this respect. And so the team came up with an integrated suite for SKAdNetwork called SK360.

How SK360 works

SK360 is a 360-degree solution that is designed to counter the challenges set forth by iOS 14+. From campaign optimization, fraud protection, seamless integration to predictive analysis, SK360 gives brands full coverage for every aspect of SKAdNetwork.

It lets customers map and experiment with their conversion value schema on a self-serve dashboard. The SKAdNetwork dashboard gives users a data-backed overview of the critical performance KPIs with real-time updates, impressions, and insights, helping businesses make the most of their iOS campaigns.

The tool also optimizes the first 24 to 72 hours to predict long-term campaign performance. Using big data, machine learning, and deep analytics, it lets brands maintain their competitive edge. SK360 also keeps track of fraudster attacks with Protect360, which provides bulletproof coverage of ad spends, during and after installs.

While Apple’s recent privacy measures have made brands worry, AppsFlyer has tools to ensure they continue thriving. It just goes on to prove that with the right marketing tech partner, nothing can hold brands back from achieving their targets. Through SK360, brands and advertisers can enjoy the advantages of SKAdNetwork seamlessly and continue to have superior output, especially in a privacy-centric marketplace.