Apple Search Ads Shows Limit Ad Tracking (LAT) Conversions

Good news for Search Ads marketers! Apple has just released a way for folks to see how many users are being shown ads, but have LAT enabled.

Limit Ad Tracking is a privacy option for users that represents a challenge to analyzing the KPI-driven success of mobile marketing campaigns. This is because it prevents marketers from attributing anything beyond the initial app install to marketing efforts, meaning that it's impossible to calculate true ROI for users with LAT enabled.

While one simple way to estimate ROI from users acquired with LAT enabled is to apply the same ROI metrics to LAT users (e.g. ARPU or retention rate), this ignores the fact that users with LAT enabled in all likelihood do not act 100% the same as users without LAT enabled.

Although this data has been available from MMPs, it's nice to now have it as an option in the Apple UI. Additionally, Apple is able to link LAT data down to a granular targeting level (i.e. search terms) with impressions, cost and taps data, which MMPs cannot do.

Apple does continue showing ads to users with LAT enabled, but again, these users are not tracked after they install the app.

Source: Apple Search Ads

The Bottom Line: Apple's documentation acknowledges the effect of its LAT feature on attributing proper value to ASA campaigns; as a result, Apple now provides first party visibility for Search Ads marketers to tell them what % of installs are un-trackable vis-a-vis LAT.