Install referrer
Install-time source metadata that can describe which store click or campaign led to the app installation.
Formal definition
An install referrer is platform-provided metadata associated with an app install that can describe the source and campaign context that led to the installation.
Plain-English explanation
It is the install-time clue that helps explain which campaign or store click likely caused the app install.
Visual journey
Journey: a campaign sends the user to the store, the install carries referrer metadata, the SDK reads it on first open, and attribution can use that install-time signal as the strongest evidence for the winning source.
Examples
- An Android store click includes campaign parameters that are later exposed to the app through install referrer APIs.
- A paid campaign can pass identifiers that survive until first launch after installation.
How it works
- The user clicks a campaign or store-bound link before the app is installed.
- The store or platform preserves source metadata around the install event.
- After first open, the app or SDK reads that metadata and uses it as strong attribution evidence.
How Attriax uses it
- Install referrer is the highest-priority attribution signal in the current Attriax model for Android.
- We prefer it because it is closer to the install event than weaker probabilistic matching methods.
- It is especially important when several candidate touchpoints exist before install.
Questions people ask
How is install referrer different from attribution?
Install referrer is one input signal about where the install came from. Attribution is the wider process that decides which source gets credit, potentially using install referrer together with other signals and priority rules.
Does install referrer automatically win every attribution decision?
Not as a universal rule everywhere, but in the current Attriax Android priority model it is the strongest preferred signal when available. It still sits inside the larger attribution system, not outside it.