Apple shipped SKAdNetwork in 2018, rebuilt it four times, and then, at WWDC 2024, introduced its successor: AdAttributionKit. If you run iOS user acquisition, this is the framework your measurement moves onto next. The good news is that it is less a reinvention than a cleaner, more capable version of what you already know. If you want the basics first, start with our AdAttributionKit primer; this guide focuses on what actually changes versus SKAN, and what to do about it now.
What Is AdAttributionKit?
AdAttributionKit (AAK): Apple's privacy-preserving attribution framework for iOS, introduced at WWDC 2024 as the successor to SKAdNetwork. It attributes app installs and re-engagements to ads without exposing user-level data, using the same privacy model as SKAN: aggregated, delayed, and thresholded postbacks.
It first arrived with iOS 17.4 in March 2024 to support alternative app marketplaces under the EU's Digital Markets Act, and now covers the App Store as well. Architecturally it inherits SKAN 4's core: three timed postbacks, fine and coarse conversion values, crowd-anonymity tiers, lock windows, and randomised postback delays. If you have already done the work of a SKAN 4 conversion-value schema, most of it carries over.
How AdAttributionKit Differs from SKAdNetwork
There is little functional difference in the privacy mechanics. The differences are in coverage, flexibility, and one genuinely new capability.
| Capability | SKAdNetwork 4 | AdAttributionKit |
|---|---|---|
| Store coverage | App Store only | App Store plus alternative marketplaces |
| Re-engagement | Not supported | Supported (click-based) |
| Creative types | Limited | Custom click ads, view-through video, banner and overlay |
| Testing | Hard; randomised timing | Developer mode removes randomisation, shortens windows |
| Naming | "App ID" | "Advertised item ID" |
| Core privacy model | 3 postbacks, conversion values, crowd anonymity | Same |
The headline is that AAK is broader (more stores, more creative formats), easier to test, and adds re-engagement, while keeping the privacy model teams have already adapted to.
What Is Genuinely New
Re-engagement and re-attribution
This is the most important addition. SKAN could not measure re-engagement; AAK can. Ad networks mark an ad as eligible for re-engagement, and for a user who already has the app installed, a universal link routes them to the right in-app screen while the interaction is attributed. Re-engagement postbacks carry a conversion type marked accordingly. Note the limit: re-engagement is supported for click interactions, not view-through.
Alternative app marketplaces
Because AAK was born from the EU DMA, it measures installs from third-party iOS marketplaces, not just the App Store. For teams distributing outside the App Store in the EU, this is the only privacy-framework path.
More creative formats
AAK supports custom click ads, view-through video, and banner and overlay formats, giving networks more ways to attribute than SKAN's narrower set.
Developer mode for testing
One of SKAN's biggest operational pains was testing against randomised timers. AAK's developer mode removes time randomisation and shortens conversion windows, so a team can validate its setup in minutes rather than days.
Do AdAttributionKit and SKAN Run Together?
Yes. The two frameworks interoperate: a team can run SKAN, AAK, or both in parallel during the transition. In practice, running both is the safe position in 2026, because your install base spans iOS versions and your ad networks are adopting AAK on their own timelines. Apple has positioned AAK as SKAN's successor and the direction of travel, but SKAN is not switched off, so measurement continuity means supporting both rather than betting the quarter on a hard cutover.
What This Means for Your iOS Measurement
- Your conversion-value work carries over. The SKAN 4.0 schema you built maps onto AAK's fine and coarse values. You are extending, not rebuilding.
- Re-engagement becomes measurable on iOS. Budgets you could never cleanly attribute (reactivation, retargeting) get a privacy-safe signal for the first time. Plan for it in your event and campaign design.
- Alternative-store installs need coverage if you distribute outside the App Store in the EU.
- Your MMP should abstract the difference. You should not be hand-managing two frameworks. A modern MMP ingests SKAN and AAK postbacks together and presents one view, the same way it already handles ATT and deterministic signals side by side.
How to Prepare and Validate
- Confirm your MMP supports AAK postbacks alongside SKAN, and that both feed one dashboard.
- Reuse your SKAN 4 conversion-value mapping as the AAK starting point, then extend it for re-engagement events.
- Use AAK developer mode to validate conversion values and postback timing quickly, before you rely on the data for spend decisions.
- Check that re-engagement ads are configured with universal links so installed users route correctly.
- Keep running SKAN in parallel until your networks and install base have moved.
The broader privacy context, from ATT and GDPR through to SKAN and AAK, is one continuous shift toward aggregated, consent-aware measurement. AAK is the next step on that path, and Linkrunner's SKAN and iOS measurement tooling is built to carry both frameworks at once. The SKAN dashboard docs show how the postbacks and conversion values surface in practice.
FAQ
Is AdAttributionKit replacing SKAdNetwork?
Apple has positioned AAK as SKAN's successor, but the two run in parallel today and interoperate. The practical approach in 2026 is to support both while networks and users migrate, not to cut over abruptly.
What is the main new feature in AdAttributionKit?
Re-engagement attribution. SKAN could not measure re-engagement; AAK can, for click-based interactions, routing installed users through universal links to the right screen.
Does my SKAN 4 conversion-value setup still work with AAK?
Largely yes. AAK uses the same fine and coarse conversion-value model and the same three-postback structure, so your existing schema is the starting point rather than a rebuild.
Which iOS version introduced AdAttributionKit?
It arrived with iOS 17.4 in March 2024, initially for alternative app marketplaces under the EU DMA, and now supports the App Store as well.
Do I need to choose between SKAN and AdAttributionKit?
No. They interoperate and can run at the same time. A capable MMP ingests both and gives you one combined view.
Next Steps
AdAttributionKit is not a fire drill; it is the natural next version of the privacy model you already run. Reuse your SKAN conversion-value work, add re-engagement to the plan, and make sure your measurement layer carries both frameworks so you are not managing them by hand. To see SKAN and AAK postbacks in one dashboard, explore Linkrunner's iOS measurement or request a demo.