How Attribution Windows Work
An attribution window defines the maximum time allowed between an ad interaction and a conversion for the conversion to be credited to that interaction. Think of it as a statute of limitations for marketing credit. If a user clicks your ad on Monday and installs your app on Wednesday, a 7-day click-through window would attribute that install to the ad. If the same user waited until the following month, the install would fall outside the window and be classified as organic.
Attribution windows operate independently for clicks and impressions. Click-through windows are typically longer (7-30 days) because a click represents active intent. View-through windows are shorter (1-24 hours) because merely seeing an ad is a weaker signal of influence. Most MMPs allow you to configure these windows separately for each ad network, giving you granular control over how credit is assigned.
The window timer starts at the moment of the interaction, the click timestamp or the impression timestamp, and counts forward. If multiple interactions from different networks fall within their respective windows, the attribution provider applies its matching logic (usually last-touch) to determine which interaction receives credit. The interaction closest to the conversion typically wins.
Choosing the Right Window Length
Selecting the optimal attribution window length is a balancing act between capturing legitimate conversions and avoiding false attributions. A window that is too long will claim organic installs as paid, inflating your reported ROAS and leading to over-investment in channels that are not actually driving incremental growth. A window that is too short will miss genuine conversions from users who take time to decide, understating campaign performance.
The right window length depends on your app category and typical user journey. Impulse-driven apps, games, entertainment, social, tend to see short click-to-install times, often under 24 hours. A 7-day window captures the vast majority of legitimate conversions without excessive over-attribution. Consideration-heavy apps, finance, insurance, B2B tools, may have longer decision cycles where users research, compare, and return days later. These apps might justify 14 or even 30-day windows.
Analyze your actual click-to-install time distribution to make data-driven window decisions. Pull a report showing the time gap between attributed clicks and installs. If 90% of conversions happen within 48 hours, a 30-day window is capturing a long tail of questionable attributions. Tighten the window to match your real conversion pattern.
Attribution Windows Across Networks
Different ad networks have different default attribution windows, and these defaults can significantly impact how performance is reported. Meta defaults to a 7-day click and 1-day view window. Google Ads uses a 30-day click window. TikTok defaults to 7-day click and 1-day view. Self-attributing networks (SANs) like Meta and Google report their own attribution using their own windows, which may differ from what your MMP is configured to use.
This discrepancy between network-reported and MMP-reported numbers is one of the most common sources of confusion for growth teams. Your MMP might attribute an install to Google using a 7-day window, while Google's own dashboard claims the same install using a 30-day window. Neither is wrong, they are applying different rules to the same data.
Linkrunner gives growth teams a unified view of attribution across all networks with configurable windows that you control. By standardizing window lengths across your media mix, you ensure apples-to-apples comparisons between channels. The dashboard clearly shows how changing window lengths would affect attribution counts, helping you make informed decisions about the right configuration for your business.
Standardize your MMP windows across networks where possible to create a level playing field. If you use a 7-day click window for Meta, use the same for Google and TikTok. This prevents networks with longer default windows from claiming disproportionate credit simply because their window is wider.
SKAN and Fixed Attribution Windows
Apple's SKAdNetwork introduced a fundamentally different approach to attribution windows that advertisers cannot customize. SKAN 4.0 uses three fixed postback windows: the first covers days 0-2 after install, the second covers days 3-7, and the third covers days 8-35. Each window provides a separate postback with decreasing data granularity.
The first postback window (0-2 days) provides the richest data, including fine-grained conversion values when crowd anonymity thresholds are met. The second and third windows typically provide only coarse conversion values (low, medium, high). This structure means that your most detailed SKAN data covers only the first 48 hours of user behavior, regardless of your app's natural conversion timeline.
This fixed-window system creates challenges for apps with longer conversion cycles. A subscription app where users typically convert from free trial to paid on day 7 will capture that conversion in the second postback window, but only as a coarse value. A fintech app where meaningful engagement happens over weeks may find that the most valuable user actions fall entirely outside the SKAN measurement windows.
Adapt your conversion value strategy to front-load the most predictive signals into the first 48 hours. Identify early indicators of long-term value, completing onboarding, engaging with core features, adding payment information, and encode these in your fine-grained conversion values. Use the later windows for confirmation signals rather than primary optimization data.
Attribution Window Best Practices
Effective attribution window management requires ongoing attention, not a one-time configuration. Review your windows quarterly as your media mix, campaign strategies, and user behavior evolve. A window that was appropriate when you were running primarily social ads may need adjustment when you add connected TV or influencer campaigns with different engagement patterns.
Document your window configurations and the rationale behind them. When team members change or new stakeholders question the numbers, having a clear record of why you chose a 7-day click window over a 14-day window prevents unnecessary debates and ensures consistency.
Use your MMP's window simulation tools if available. These tools show how your attribution counts would change under different window configurations, helping you understand the sensitivity of your data to window length. If shortening your window from 14 days to 7 days only reduces attributed installs by 3%, the longer window is not providing meaningful additional signal, it is just claiming a few more organic installs.
Finally, align your attribution windows with your fraud detection strategy. Fraudulent clicks often have unusually long click-to-install times because they are generated speculatively. Tighter attribution windows naturally filter out some fraud by excluding these long-tail conversions. Combine window optimization with your MMP's fraud detection tools for the most accurate attribution data.
