What is crowd anonymity? How does it work in SKAdNetwork?

The concept of crowd anonymity is becoming much more relevant in the 4.0 version of SKAdNetwork—but why is it so important? What factors define the level of anonymity of a conversion? 🤔

In this article, we clarify all the latest updates regarding crowd anonymity in SKAdNetwork, including:

1️⃣ What is crowd anonymity?

2️⃣ What’s the role of crowd anonymity in Apple’s SKAdNetwork framework?

3️⃣ How is crowd anonymity in SKAN 4.0 different from previous versions?

4️⃣ What are tiers in SKAN 4.0?

5️⃣ What is the privacy threshold for each tier?

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What is crowd anonymity?

Crowd anonymity is a system that determines the level of privacy assured to an app user based on the number of installs generated in a mobile marketing campaign. 

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What’s the role of crowd anonymity in Apple’s SKAdNetwork framework?

Earlier this year, Nikhil Varma from Apple’s team explained that “when the install count is low, we take extra steps to protect privacy by limiting the trackable information sent back. As the count scales up and the user’s uniqueness starts to blend into the crowd, we send more data back. Finally, as the count reaches the highest tier, we are able to send the most data back while still preserving privacy.” Simply put, the more installs the campaign generates, the higher the crowd anonymity; and, therefore, the more campaign data you will receive. 

How is this different from previous SKAdNetwork versions?

In previous SKAN versions, Apple relied solely on privacy thresholds. If the campaign generated enough installs to meet the privacy threshold, you would get a postback with a conversion value. If the campaign didn’t meet the privacy threshold, you didn’t get a conversion value. 

In SKAN 4.0, there are different “levels” of campaign insights that advertisers can receive based on where the campaign stands from a crowd anonymity standpoint. To determine the level of data granularity each postback will get, Apple introduced four different groups or “tiers”. 

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What are the tiers of crowd anonymity in SKAN 4.0?

In SKAdNetwork 4.0, tiers represent different levels of crowd anonymity based on attribution volume. 

There are currently four tiers (Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3). The following image illustrates how tiers work. The stars represent a user’s uniqueness and how poorly or well they blend in with the crowd.

At the lower end of crowd anonymity, there’s Tier 0. In this case, the install count is low and therefore doesn’t meet the privacy threshold. As a result, you’ll get:

1️⃣ The source identifier with two digits

2️⃣ No conversion values in the first postback 

3️⃣ No further postbacks 

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Tier 1 also sits at the lower end of crowd anonymity, but with enough installs to meet the privacy threshold. In this tier, you’ll get:

1️⃣ The source identifier with two digits

2️⃣ The coarse-grained conversion value

At the higher end of crowd anonymity we find tiers 2 and 3, where user anonymity blends in with the crowd. 

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In Tier 2, you’ll get:

1️⃣ The source identifier with two, three, or four digits in the first postback

2️⃣ The source identifier with two digits in postbacks 2 and 3

3️⃣ The fine-grained conversion value in the first postback

4️⃣ The coarse-grained conversion value in postbacks 2 and 3

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In Tier 3, you’ll get:

1️⃣ The source identifier with two, three, or four digits in the first postback

2️⃣ The source identifier with two digits in postbacks 2 and 3

3️⃣ The fine-grained conversion value in the first postback

4️⃣ The coarse-grained conversion value in postbacks 2 and 3

5️⃣ The source-app-id (for in-app ads) or source-domain (for web-to-app ads)

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What is the threshold for each tier?

Apple hasn’t disclosed what are the specific values required to meet the privacy thresholds or to fit a specific tier—and it’s unlikely that this information will be made public. At the moment, Apple has confirmed that the threshold is associated with the count of installs or conversions generated; and that the higher the volume of the campaign, the higher the tier you’ll be classified into.

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TL;DR?

Get started with SKAdNetwork 4.0

Want to start testing SKAdNetwork? Are you already running SKAN campaigns but want to know more about the changes in SKAN 4.0? Contact us to discuss how Jampp can help you drive incremental revenue for your iOS campaigns, or learn more about SKAdNetwork here:

• SKAdNetwork 4.0 vs SKAdNetwork 3.0
• How conversion values work in SKAN 4.0
• How randomized timers work in SKAN 4.0

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