Short answer: an attribution window is how long after a click or view an install can still be credited to that ad. Every platform sets its own, and when the ad network's window is wider than your MMP's, the network keeps installs the MMP calls organic or gives elsewhere. Matching windows removes the most common source of install gaps.
What an attribution window is
Attribution window: the period after an ad click or view during which an install or in-app event can be credited to that ad. It is also called a lookback window.
Windows come in three flavours:
- Click-through: the user tapped the ad.
- View-through: the user saw the ad but did not tap it.
- Engaged view: the user watched a video ad for a minimum time without tapping. Google, for example, requires at least 10 seconds of a skippable video, or the full ad if shorter.
Why do windows cause so many discrepancies?
Because each tool applies its own window to the same user journey. If a user clicks a Meta ad on day 1 and installs on day 10, Meta may credit the install under a 28-day click setting while an MMP with a 7-day Meta window calls it organic. Both tools are working correctly; they just use different rules.
Window settings by platform
The table below lists what each platform documents. Where a value is a default, it says so. Check your own account settings rather than assuming.
| Platform | Click window | View window | Source and note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta, app install reporting | 1, 7 or 28-day click options | Per ad set setting | Meta help centre; check each ad set |
| Google Ads, App campaigns | 30 days by default for installs | 1 day, fixed | Google help centre; engaged view defaults to 2 days for install campaigns |
| Google Ads, in-app events | 90 days by default | 1 day | Google developer docs |
| TikTok | 7 days by default | 1 day by default | TikTok help centre, as reported in search extracts |
| SKAN | 30 days to install after a StoreKit-rendered ad | 24 hours | Apple developer docs |
| AdAttributionKit | 30 days default, 1 to 30 configurable | 1 day default, 1 to 7 configurable | Apple developer docs |
| GA4, first_open | 30 days default, 7 option | Not applicable | Google Analytics help centre |
A few details matter:
- Meta: Meta's help centre describes 1-day, 7-day and 28-day click settings for app install reporting, and 1-day or 7-day click for post-install events. Its developer docs also describe view-through claims. Look at the attribution setting on the actual ad sets you compare.
- Google: the view-through window for App campaigns is fixed at 1 day. Click-through and engaged-view windows are set by you.
- TikTok: according to its help centre, SAN ad groups can use 1 or 7-day click, 1 or 7-day engaged view, and off or 1-day view-through, and settings cannot change after an ad group is published. TikTok also says its window setting does not affect MMP reporting.
- SKAN: there are also 60 days after install for the first launch, and 60 days for the first conversion update.
- AdAttributionKit: windows can be configured in the app's Info.plist, globally or per ad network, for installs only.
How MMP windows interact with network windows
An MMP applies its own window to each network. For self-attributing networks such as Meta, Google and TikTok, the network makes the claim within its window, and the MMP then decides whether to accept it and whether a later touchpoint elsewhere wins (general practice).
Three outcomes follow:
- Network window wider than MMP window. The network counts more installs than the MMP gives it. The extra installs land in organic or another source in the MMP.
- Windows match. Remaining gaps come from views, deduplication, time zones or date basis.
- MMP window wider than network window. Rarer, but the MMP can then credit installs the network does not count.
How to align windows
- List every active network with its click, view and engaged-view settings, per campaign or ad set where they differ.
- Open your MMP's window settings for each network and write them alongside.
- Decide on one policy, for example the same click and view window for every network, so credit is fair across channels.
- Change settings where the platform allows. On TikTok, that means new ad groups.
- Document windows you cannot change, so the expected gap is known.
Re-attribution windows are different
A re-attribution window decides when a returning user counts as a new install. Google says Firebase counts reinstalls as installs by default and third parties often apply a re-attribution window instead. Exact MMP defaults are vendor-specific.
Related pages
- The organic installs troubleshooter checks windows as one of its first steps.
- Meta shows more installs than the MMP is often a window gap.
- Self-attributing networks explains how claims within windows reach your MMP.
- Reinstalls inflate installs covers re-attribution windows.