Self-attributing networks

What makes a network self-attributing

With most ad networks, the MMP sees the click first. The person taps a tracking link, the MMP logs it, and the match is made later from the MMP's own records. A self-attributing network keeps its click and view data inside its own system. The MMP never sees the individual touchpoint at the moment it happens.

The match therefore runs in the other direction. The app is opened for the first time, the MMP tells the network that a new install occurred, and the network checks its own logs. The answer comes back as a claim: yes, this install followed one of our ads, with this campaign and this time, or no.

How the MMP decides between claims

In the usual setup, the steps run like this.

1. The SDK reports a first open to the MMP.
2. The MMP asks each connected self-attributing network whether it claims the install.
3. Each network that claims it returns the details of its last interaction.
4. The MMP puts those claims next to the clicks it logged itself from other networks.
5. It applies your windows and the last-touch rule and names one winner.

Two networks can both claim the same install, and both can be telling the truth: the person saw ads on each. The MMP's job is to choose between them by one consistent rule. Each network, looking only at its own data, will still count the install as its own.

What changes in your reports

The last row causes the most confusion. If the network uses a longer window inside its own dashboard than you set in the MMP, its dashboard will show more installs. Neither figure is wrong. They answer different questions, which is the usual source of a discrepancy.

What you cannot verify

You cannot audit a claim click by click, because the click log stays with the network. You see the claim and its campaign details. For user-level detail, the terms of each network decide what the MMP may show you and what it may export. Read those terms in your MMP's integration guide for each network. They differ, and they change.

On iOS, Apple's own frameworks can make the match and report the result. The SKAdNetwork entry explains that path.

What to do next

• List the ad platforms you buy from and mark which ones your MMP connects to by account integration and which by tracking link.
• For each integrated platform, write down the click and view windows in its own dashboard and in the MMP. Align them where you can.
• Send conversion events back through a postback for every connected platform, so its bidding learns from the same results you see.
• Confirm your plan covers the channels you use. Airbridge Core's ad network attribution covers Meta Ads, Google Ads, Apple Ads and TikTok only.^[1]