The Wait Is Over for iOS 14.5

Johanna Lazar

April 21st, 2021

The wait for the release of iOS 14.5 is soon coming to an end, as indicated by Apple’s launching of the iOS 14.5 Release Candidate and a footnote in a press release that states iOS 14.5 will be available “next week”. This means that Apple will start enforcing its new App Tracking Transparency policy, which may significantly impact your ads attribution data.

How this affects you

As a reminder, if you use Branch for paid ad attribution, the iOS 14.5 changes will impact you in the following ways:

Without user opt-in to ad tracking via the App Tracking Transparency prompt in your app, a user’s IDFA will be zeroed out after they update to iOS 14.5
For users who have not opted-in to tracking across apps, you must rely on SKAdNetwork’s aggregated data to get paid ads attribution
For users on iOS 14.5+, Branch will not be able to perform device-level attribution for users who have been driven to your app via a paid ad campaign and do not opt-in via the ATT Prompt in both your app and the publisher app in which the ad appeared

Recommended Steps

If you haven’t yet prepared for this change, we recommend completing the following actions:

Enable SKAdNetwork. SKAdNetwork is Apple’s attribution framework, facilitating ad measurement without device-level data. SKAdNetwork integration instructions are available here.
Implement the App Tracking Transparency prompt, if you decide to do so. If you want to continue receiving device-level ad attribution data, your users will need to opt in via the new ATT permissions prompt. Technical implementation steps are available here. We have also published a blog post with implementation best practices to optimize your opt-in rate.
Reach out to your ad network partners to confirm any configuration changes. A list of ad networks that have completed SKAdNetwork setup with Branch can be found here.

You can also refer to our SKAdNetwork Dashboard and Analytics walkthroughs, this recap of Branch’s ads analytics changes as a result of iOS 14.5, our iOS 14.5 FAQs, and our blog post detailing your short-term options if you haven’t completed preparations yet.

While the launch of iOS 14.5 will be a major change for the industry, Branch is here to help you prepare for and succeed in the new normal. If you still have questions after referring to all of these resources, please reach out to your Branch contact or contact us here.