Apple is (eventually) killing SKAdNetwork; here’s what’s next

Buried deep in Apple’s many, many recent announcements from WWDC 2024 is an important change coming to SKAdNetwork (SKAN), the privacy-focused advertising measurement framework launched in 2018.

That change? SKAN will eventually get phased out and replaced by a new framework called App AdAttributionKit. Developers can currently use both frameworks without data duplication, but Apple has signaled that SKAN’s days are limited.

Here’s why that’s important.

SKAN helps advertisers figure out which ad campaigns are driving conversions, either in the form of clicks through to a webpage, or new app downloads from the App Store. SKAN anonymizes the data, so advertisers can see conversion rates, but can’t tie that data back to individual user IDs.

AdAttributionKit has all the same functionalities as SKAN, but works on both the App Store and third-party marketplaces. Crucially, AdAttributionKit includes the ability to measure reengagement campaigns, showing advertisers which ads successfully convince someone to reopen an app they had previously downloaded, or return to a webpage they had visited in the past.

Ad networks register with Apple, and every ad they deliver on iOS gets tagged in the background. Apple can see these tags, and the actions that people take after seeing an ad.

For example:

• A person sees an ad for a mobile game, clicks on the ad and downloads the game immediately. AdAttributionKit would attribute that conversion to that ad, and the app that it ran in.
• A person sees an ad for a mobile game, but doesn’t immediately click. Later, they install the game directly from the App Store. AdAttributionKit would attribute that conversion to the last ad they saw, and the app the ad ran in.
• A person sees 10 ads for a mobile game, inside multiple apps, over the past week. They finally decide to click on the tenth ad, and download the game. AdAttributionKit would attribute that conversion to the last ad they saw, and the app it ran in.

AdAttributionKit cryptographically signs each transaction to minimize ad fraud.

Apple and Google are in the midst of a multiyear journey to create a more privacy-centric advertising environment on Safari, iOS, Android, and Chrome. Regulators across the world are pushing both companies to balance the measurement and attribution needs of advertisers with the privacy needs of consumers.