I am following this guide https://developers.facebook.com/docs/ads-for-apps/mobile-app-ads and I've done everything as explained: added the Facebook SDK, triggered the "app activate" event with the corresponding App ID in the app delegate, set up the Info.plist with the ID. When I test my application through the simulator and on a testing device I open App Dashboard -> Insights -> App Events -> Overview and I get track of "fb_mobile_activate_app" events almost instantly, they are incrementing. Is this all I should have to know the SDK is implemented correctly and I can update my app on the App Store without worries and then run an Ads campaign on Facebook?
I am asking also because the things are a bit confusing on the Insights -> "Mobile App Installs" page:
This dashboard shows organic and paid app installs reported by either the Facebook SDK for iOS, the Facebook SDK for Android, or a Mobile Measurement Partner. This dashboard serves as as an indicator of app install volume, user demographics, and as a baseline for understanding how ads are increasing installs of your app. Developers can also use this dashboard for debugging to ensure that app installs are being recorded. For detailed data on paid installs, see the analytics in the Ads Manager.
Users who are not logged into a version of the Facebook mobile app released since August 2012 are not counted here.
How do you guys understand this line Developers can also use this dashboard for debugging to ensure that app installs are being recorded.? How can you debug this without having an ad and why do I get zeros on the "Mobile App Installs" graph? Is it possible that Facebook have a faulty description or am I understanding it wrong? Thanks
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We're using Flurry for analytics tracking.
Our SDK seems to be set up properly, as we are receiving and tracking events successfully.
We're trying to use User Acquisition Analytics (UAA) to track our installs, but after numerous attempts (over the course of many weeks), we are only getting 'clicks' and no 'installs'.
Is there anything special we need to do to get Flurry UAA working?
Our app is on the App Store, but we're trying to track downloads for beta installs. We're generating campaign URLs via the Flurry dashboard to our .plist files which are pointing to our beta IPA. Clicking on the link starts the app installation. We install the app, load it up, play around for a few minutes, then put it in the background and close it. After a few hours we see the 'click' register on the Flurry dashboard, but no installs.
Here are a few thing to keep in mind when testing a UAA tracking link.
1) The click and the install must occur on the same device.
2) It must be the first time the app has ever been launched on the test device. Removing and reinstalling the app will not count as an install. We have no visibility to to the install until the app is actually launched on the device.
The most common errors with UAA are using a test device that has previously had the app installed on it. And also we recommend starting the Flurry session when the app is first launched. Some publishers choose to start the Flurry session at some later time (such as after the user completes a registration form).
Send me an email to support#flurry.com and I may be able to test the campaign for you. Using a UAA tracking link in a plist file is not the intended purpose for these links, but I would like to hear the details.
I'm using Facebook SDK version 4.5.1 in my application. The APP ID, URL scheme, App display name etc have been incorporated into the info.plist correctly. We have Authentication as well as Share features inside the app all of which are working perfectly as expected. For Event tracking we have;
- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application{
[FBSDKAppEvents activateApp];
}
I can confirm that analytics is working seeing the Dashboard, i.e Installs and App events are getting reported correctly.
But when I run an Ad Campaign I would expect the SDK to correctly report the Mobile Installs but unfortunately I don't see any of that data coming in, i.e Mobile App Ad Installs are showing "0" installs.
An interesting thing to note here - when Checking with Facebook's App Ad Helper, It seems to show the "Last iOS Install" data on the top correctly but interestingly enough the second row i.e "Installs over the last 7 days" seems to show an "X".
Here's a screenshot of the same
But here's the screenshot which confirms that installs are getting reported.
Facebook is tracking organic install now. I also faced similar situation and i came across the concept of organic app install tracking.
Just install the app on a fresh device (which was not used with my application earlier). You will be able to see the install in the facebook dashboard after few minutes.
Thats all!
Hope this helps
I managed to get this working eventually. Haven't got the confirmation officially from Facebook dev team on this but it turned out that the "Advanced settings" section in the App Facebook Setting has an "Collect the Apple Advertising Identifier (IDFA) with App Events" switch which was turned Off for our App. The App was created a pretty long time back and this had to be turned On.
Although the description below it seems to suggest that this might not have been the real reason behind the issue, I can confirm that installs started reporting once we had this turned ON.
You must have the iPhone Facebook App installed for their analytics to work.
I had the exact same symptoms, and after installing the FB app it worked. Seems really like they're bypassing sandboxing somehow, but there you go.
I am trying to track down the installs in my iOS app in the Facebook Insights panel and i am not really able to do it. The only reading that i get is the number of App Launches. App install data is not getting recorded.
When i went through the insights panel i came across a banner as follows
"This data can be incomplete as we do not seem to be receiving app launch events corresponding to all your app installs"
Can you please help me with a solutions to track the no of App installs in Facebook Insights panel.
If you are using the FB iOS SDK then this logging is done by the use of FBSDKAppEvents class as described here.
One reason I can think of why you cannot see the data is that you do not have enough data. Wait for more data to log and see if it works.
If you are working with Mobile ads then make sure you follow the instructions here. There is an App Ads Helper as well that you might find handy.
When you integrate the Facebook SDK to track Mobile App Installs, does this use the IDFA and hence do you have to answer yes to the corresponding question in iTunes Connect question when submitting the app for review?
This is the code in application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:
[FBSettings setDefaultAppID:FB_APP_ID_NSTRING];
[FBAppEvents activateApp];
In my Facebook dashboard, my app is configured with Yes under "Install Insights" and "Enable Enhanced Interest Targeting":
The iTunes Connect question I refer to is shown here:
There are plenty of questions here about IDFA, but none (as far as I could see) that clarifies whether using the Facebook SDK solely for Mobile App Installs does make use of the IDFA.
Only under certain situations. See Facebook's FAQ:
Does Facebook’s SDK for iOS access the IDFA?
The Facebook SDK includes code to access Apple’s Advertising Identifier (IDFA), but that code is only executed in certain situations.
The Facebook SDK for iOS only accesses IDFAs in the following scenarios: 1) if your app serves ads within the app through Facebook’s Audience Network, or 2) if your app logs app installs or other mobile App Events in order to attribute those events to your ad campaigns.
If you are not logging App Events (via the FBAppEvents class), then the Facebook SDK is not accessing the IDFAs. Additionally, the Facebook SDK does not require AdSupport.framework to be included.
If you want to track App Events without collecting IDFA, you can disable IDFA collection within your app dashboard in the advanced setting section.
I've integreated Facebook SDK, and put the code [FBSettings publishInstall:YOUR_APP_ID]; in, and it worked all right with return value true.
I'm testing it using ad hoc distribution, for some reason the field Last Mobile Install Reported is not showing up. And the Facebook app summary page I got seems to be different to other people.
My question is:
Do I need to release the app to Apple store first, then download it via Facebook Ad in order for 'Last Mobile Install Reported' to show up?
My guess is that since I installed the app as Ad Hoc to my device, not via Facebook, so that 'Last Mobile Install Reported' didn't work. It is fair enough if that is the case, as I expect Facebook to charge me only when people download and install the app via Facebook Ads. But I'm not sure if my guess is all right or not. Can anyone clarify how facebook mobile app install ads works?
I've read through https://developers.facebook.com/docs/tutorials/mobile-app-ads/ already btw.
Any help would be appreciated.
I know I'm a little late to answer this but maybe this will help someone else. I just ran my first ad campaign on fb for my app and tracked installs.
First, the way you test if your app has the fb framework installed correctly and reporting installs is:
Look for the "fb_mobile_activate_app" event to show up in fb in the App Dashboard -> Insights -> App Events -> Overview. It should show up within a minute of the app opening.
Your app does not have to be released. I was getting install data from the simulator.
FB tracks all opens and if that same user clicked on one of your ads within the last 28 days it counts it as an install.
Your app do not have to be Released to see that feature. We have seen stats even for our development status app.
Last Mobile Install Reported works for non Facebook Ads related installs as well. They basically take in any installs .
It seems like you already have a Mobile Install Reported value in place. I don't think it would report a duplicated device if you set up the Info.plist correctly as instructed in the article below. Under "Advanced steps for mobile measurement", go to step 2.
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/tutorials/mobile-app-ads/
There is a "trick" to seeing your installs.
Yes, you can test "App Installs" on the Simulator or on your device...BUT...you might not see them on the Facebook Dashboard.
Instead, first go to the INSIGHTS tab reached from the left menu on the App Dashboard.
You may see App Installs here - but you might not.
Second, if you don't see any live data for App Installs, look at the section called "APP LAUNCHES." That can be used as a surrogate indicator that your app is working.
Third, if you don't see live data for "App Launches" - look at the date range. Change the date range to extend to TOMORROW's date. Give Facebook 1-2 minutes to update with your data. At that point, now you can see that live App Launches are occurring - and thus will know that your connection to FB is working.