Self-attributing networks

Self-attributing networks lives in the Marketing area of the dashboard, under Attribution.

At a glance#

What it does#

Self-attributing networks — SANs — are the large platforms that attribute installs using their own logged-in user match rather than a click identifier. This page lists installs claimed that way.

It is the most authoritative attribution method available, because the network genuinely knows the user was signed in when they saw the ad. No probabilistic matching, no fingerprinting, no lost identifier.

When to use it#

When comparing attribution quality across sources. A SAN-claimed install is a much stronger claim than a probabilistically matched one, and knowing which of your installs fall into each category tells you how much of your channel data to trust.

Also when a SAN's claims look too high — which they sometimes are, for the reason below.

Workflow#

1. 1

   Read SAN claims as the high-confidence tier

   These are the installs you can be most confident about. Treat other methods as progressively weaker.

2. 2

   Watch for overlapping claims

   Two networks can both claim the same install. Deduplication follows your attribution rules, but the underlying disagreement is real and worth knowing about.

3. 3

   Compare against your total install count

   The SAN share tells you how much of your acquisition runs through the large platforms — which is usually more than teams expect.

Permissions and prerequisites#

Requires a connected self-attributing network — set up on Media partners.

Limits and edge cases#

• View-through claims are included by some networks — an install attributed to an ad that was displayed but never clicked. Check each network's settings.

• You cannot audit a SAN claim. The matching happens inside the network.

• Windows differ per network, so the same install can be claimed by one and not another purely on timing.

Troubleshooting#

A network claims more installs than we had in total. Overlapping claims across networks, counted before deduplication. Check the attributed total rather than the sum of claims.

No SAN installs. No self-attributing network is connected, or none is currently running campaigns.

Where the data comes from#

A self-attributing network matches the install using its own logged-in user, so the claim is the network’s assertion rather than something you can audit.

Served by

• Tracking

Related#

• Attribution

• Media partners

• Campaign landing perf.

• Click fraud

• Postbacks

• Partner event mapping

• Server-side conversions

• Marketing overview