10 Things you should know about iOS14 and the SKAdNetwork
Within the mobile app industry, the privacy changes that Apple wants to implement with the iOS 14 update have been the talk of the day for some time. Below is an overview of the eight most important things you need to know.
1. What changes with iOS14?
Once the update has been carried out, the so-called advertiser ID or IDFA is only shared with the apps and underlying software if the user explicitly gives permission for this. Similar to the cookie legislation, you as a user can now only be “tracked” if you consent to this via the pop-up prompt.
2. What is IDFA
This IDFA is a personal identifier that is now used, for example, by free apps with an advertising revenue model to show you relevant advertisements based on your previous clicks or behavior in the app. In addition, it is also used by app marketing companies such as Wuzzon to measure through which banner or source a user downloads an app to improve campaign results.
3. SKAdNetwork
As an app owner, if you still want to promote your app, the introduction of iOS 14 will have consequences for optimizing your campaigns. One of the solutions is to prepare your app to implement SKAdNetwork. SKAdNetwork is how Apple makes it possible to provide anonymous insight into the effectiveness of your campaigns, without being able to measure this at an individual level. The IDFA is then no longer necessary.
4. Wuzzon’s SKAdnetwork
Wuzzon is one of the first parties in the Netherlands to have its own SKAdnetwork. For example, with the new privacy rules from Apple in iOS 14, we can still provide insight into where the installs of our app advertisers come from. We can optimize the campaign for the right type of users and measure which creatives work best. As a certified agency partner, Wuzzon also works closely with the existing attribution networks, such as Adjust, Appsflyer, Branch
5. When will iOS14 take effect?
This is still not entirely certain, but it now seems to be happening very quickly. The latest update iOS 14.5 beta has all the settings as described earlier. After it was delayed earlier in the late summer of 2020 to give the industry more time to prepare, it now appears to go live mid-March.
6.Should I ask the user to opt ​​in?
To check this, it is useful to investigate whether and, if so, for what purpose you are currently using IDFA. If your app has a revenue model with advertisements, it is very likely that you use the IDFA to maximize your advertising revenue and show the right advertisement to the right user. When as an app publisher you have multiple apps under your company, IDFA is often used for cross promotion. Then it is useful to have insight into this to determine the impact.
If you find out that you are not using IDFA at all, it may be advisable to wait (for now) before requesting the opt-in. After the introduction, you can see what the rest of the industry will do and learn from the best practices.
7. Increasing the percentage of opt-ins
If you do want to request the opt in, it is important to make the percentage as high as possible. You can do this in several ways. In any case, only ask for the opt-in if the user has a “happy” moment in your app and trusts the app. You can also use mobile CRM tools such as Leanplum, Clevertap and Airship to dress up the screens before the actual Apple prompt. Make sure to include why you ask this. A / B testing with these messaging flows can almost double the percentage of opt-ins for iOS 14
8. How about Google, Facebook and other ad networks
If you promote your iOS app via Google, Facebook or other networks, you will probably notice impact. The number of different campaigns is limited and the data you get back from the conversions is minimal. Where you could previously optimize on various in-app events, you will now have to make choices. This is because they also only receive conversion data from Apple via SKAdnetwork and this is less detailed than before. Facebook even has a real fitty with Apple about this.
9. What are the possible obstacles with SKAdNetwork?
Apple’s SKAdNetwork is currently still in development and therefore has limited possibilities. Although the implementation of the required code in the app is not complicated, certain things will go differently than before. For example, a signal can only be sent back once to the SKAdNetwork per app install. The amount of data that can be sent with the install is very limited.
10. How to use the SKAdNetwork to its full potential?
To use the SKAdNetwork to its full potential, one must have a clear picture in advance of the in-app events that are most important to the core business of the app. The SKAdNetwork will have a waiting time of 24 hours before the signal is fired from the app to Apple’s SKAdNetwork. Careful consideration must be given to which data is available and which data can be sent in those 24 hours. In addition, it is also possible to extend those 24 hours and wait until more data is available.
If you would like to know more about the impact that the introduction of iOS 14 has on your app, please contact one of our app growth consultants for a free consultation.
EN 
NL 