It’s been over a year since Apple introduced ATT (App Tracking Transparency), which allows users to choose if they want to be tracked for advertising purposes.
When Apple first announced ATT, the predictions were brutal. In most cases, they sounded something like this:
“95% of users will opt-out of ad tracking.”
“Targeted advertising on iOS is a thing of the past.”
“Bye-bye attribution on iOS.”
With everything we know now, it’s safe to say that none of this came true.
The number of users who opt-in to ATT turned out to be much higher than anticipated.
In fact, as time goes by, ATT opt-in rates are increasing. Find out how high the current ATT opt-in rates are, what you can do to boost them for your app, and more!
ATT Opt-in Rates: Then and Now
ATT opt-in rates tell us how many users consent to app tracking in exchange for a personalized ad experience.
When ATT was first released at the end of April 2021, the initial opt-in rates didn’t look promising. Even though they weren’t as low as the predicted 5%, in May 2021, they were quite low – 16% (Adjust).
Many feared it would stay this way.
However, soon enough, the numbers started rising.
By the end of 2021, the average opt-in rate climbed to 25%. This number refers to all app categories combined.
Out of all categories, gaming apps were most successful with average ATT opt-in rates of 30%. Gaming was followed by social at 22%, e-commerce at 21%, and travel at 17% (Adjust).
Why Do ATT Opt-in Rates Vary So Much?
According to Statista, in March 2022, global ATT opt-in rates averaged at 46%. At the same time, Flurry’s analytics show that, in April and March 2022, the average worldwide opt-in rates were 25% :
You must be wondering why these numbers vary so much.
This happens because there are different ways they can be calculated. ATT opt-in rates can be interpreted in a couple of ways, and companies measure them differently. Generally, app users can have one of these ATT statuses:
- Seen the prompt and opted in
- Seen the prompt and opted out
- Not prompted yet
- Excluded from getting a prompt due to Limit Ad Tracking, age, or something else
- Opted-out on the device level
Based on these statuses, companies define ways to measure ATT opt-in rates.
For example, Flurry tracks the ATT status for active app users on a particular date. On the other hand, AppsFlyer calculates the percentage of users who have seen the ATT prompt and then opted-in.
With this in mind, let’s go over some more numbers.
ATT Opt-in Rates by Category
Source: Statista
It’s interesting to see how opt-in rates vary by app category. According to the most recent Statista data, the top five app categories by ATT opt-in rates are:
- Utilities (53%)
- Finance (53%)
- Photography (50%)
- Lifestyle (49%)
- Food and drink (47%)
As you can see, these percentages are quite close to one another. For this reason, it would be rash to claim that certain app categories work best with ATT.
Also, you may notice that gaming apps didn’t even make the top five in this ranking. They ranked somewhere in the middle with an average opt-in rate of 46%.
Opt-in Rates Across Different Mobile Game Genres
The mobile game market is very diverse. It includes everything from super simple hyper-casual games to heavy-graphics hardcore games.
And just like these games differ, so do their ATT opt-in rates.
AppsFlyer tracked the average opt-in rates for different mobile game genres in 2021, and the results are intriguing.
Source: AppsFlyer
Hyper-casual games were the # 1 mobile game genre with average global ATT opt-in rates of 54%. Midcore games followed them at 47% and hardcore games at 42%.
Why hyper-casual games?
There is no definitive answer to this. However, a logical explanation may be that hyper-casual gamers simply don’t think much about the prompt. They just want to play the game, so they accept everything to get to the playing part as quickly as possible.
According to Pocket Gamer, opt-in rates are higher in hyper-casual games that display the prompt early. One minute into the first session, over 50% of players accept it.
This statistic seems to back up our theory.
If the prompt appears early, a lot of players see it as a necessary step to play the game. Just like they would accept “terms and conditions” without carefully reading them.
3 Strategies to Boost ATT Opt-in Rates (With Examples)
There is a reason why the average ATT opt-in rates increased so much in a year’s time – app developers have put a lot of effort into this.
Effort = testing.
To find out how to get the most out of ATT, developers have tested different strategies. Based on that, they’ve discovered some best practices that work well for their apps.
All of these strategies have the same goal – giving users compelling reasons to consent to ad tracking. Besides that, the developers need to assure users that their data will be treated carefully.
In other words, it’s about gaining trust.
Here are some of the most effective strategies you can use to boost your app’s ATT opt-in rates and make your users trust you.
1. Customize Your ATT Prompt
Apple’s ATT prompts consist of two parts. The first one is set in concrete, but you do have the option to customize the second part – the purpose string.
If you’re ignoring this option, you’re making a big mistake.
Customizing the purpose string is your chance to motivate users to opt in. You can use it to chase away any users’ privacy concerns they may have and highlight what are the benefits for them.
Some of the benefits you can highlight in the purpose string are:
- a personalized ad experience
- relevant ads
- advanced social features
- better fraud prevention
Now, your goal is to tell all this to your users… but without sounding like a robot.
For this reason, we advise you to avoid using words like “collect”, “track”, “installation” and “services”. All of these can have negative connotations, as users can perceive them as threatening and scary.
Instead, you can make things warmer and more user-focused by using phrases like “your data”, “personalized ads” and “only used”.
According to Kochava’s research, shorter prompts of up to 12 words work better than longer ones. Therefore, you should try to make the benefits clear in a short text, and prioritize those that are most likely to work for your audience.
Good ATT Prompt Example – Coin Master
Source: attprompts.com
The developers of Coin Master didn’t miss out on the opportunity to customize the game’s ATT prompt.
As you may notice, this prompt doesn’t contain any of the recommended words we mentioned before, and it consists of 15 words. It doesn’t feature any of the words to avoid either.
It may not be “by the book”, but this prompt makes perfect sense for this game.
The thing is, Coin Master is a game with strong social features. PvP play is at the heart of the game, and players frequently battle their social media buddies. For this reason, the prompt asks players to share their advertising ID to connect with their friends in the game.
Not So-Good ATT Prompt Example – AccuWeather
Source: attprompts.com
This weather app could have a better ATT prompt.
Besides the fact that it’s pretty long (20 words), the prompt uses a lot or f words that are difficult to comprehend. This includes words like “attribution”, “analytics”, “research” and “product enhancements”.
The problem?
Sure, app & game professionals can understand exactly what all of this means. However, the average user probably won’t.
Besides complicated wording, this ATT prompt revolves around the benefits for the developer. However, it fails to provide an answer to a very important question – what’s in it for the user?
2. Use Pre-prompts
Frustrated by the fact that you can’t fully customize the ATT prompt? No problem, you can display your custom-build pre-prompt.
A pre-prompt is a pop-up you can display to users right before the iOS pop-up appears. Unlike that one, this prompt is entirely yours. This means you can take care of its:
- Layout
- Messaging
- Timing
- What happens next
Use all this freedom to make the pre-prompt look and feel like your app. Ultimately, it should help you build trust, educate, and motivate users to opt in for ATT.
Here, there are no “one size fits all” rules.
Each app looks and feels different, so different prompts can work well for different apps. In the example below, you will see two completely different pre-prompts from the same app category.
Pre-prompt Examples – Adidas vs. Nike
Source: attprompts.com
Adidas’ pre-prompt is centered around its visuals. It features two athletes high-fiving, referring to teamwork, and inviting users to “join the team”. The text below highlights the benefits for the users and gives clear instructions on what they should do when they see the prompt.
On the other hand, Nike’s pre-prompt is a short, clear text that emphasizes the advantages of opting in. It appears at the end of user onboarding, giving users time to establish a connection with the app.
Both of these prompts prepare users for the next step – the actual ATT prompt. Adidas does with a “continue” button, while Nike uses “next”.
3. Watch Out for Timing
Mastering the message of the ATT prompt is only a part of the job. Another important part is its timing.
So, is there an ideal moment to ask users for consent?
Again, no such thing as ideal here. Each app is unique, and so is the way users interact with it.
The critical first step to determining ideal timing is understanding your users’ journeys. You should know exactly how the typical user moves through the funnel and experiences the app.
Based on that, you can decide when to pop the question.
For example, gaming apps frequently deliver the prompt after players complete the tutorial or the first level. For an e-commerce app, it’s a good idea to delay the prompt until users actually start viewing products. On the other hand, subscription-based apps may benefit from displaying the prompt right after users sign up.
Some other popular practices include delivering the prompt after a positive event, at the beginning of the session, or after tapping the “play” button, etc.
All in all, the right time is the point at which users become aware of your app’s value, making them more likely to opt-in.
Final Thoughts on ATT Opt-in Rates
As a part of the app & game industry, it’s important to stay up to date with ATT trends.
If you’re a developer, you can use these numbers as benchmarks to navigate the turbulence of privacy changes.
If you’re advertising on iOS, it’s definitely good to hear that ATT opt-in rates are increasing. For better results, you can try advertising within app categories with the highest opt-in rates. This way, you might get accurate data on roughly 50% of users.
You’d rather have accurate data on 100% of users?
Shift your focus from third-party data to first-party data. You can do this by placing your ads on O&O (owned and operated) properties that leverage 1st party data for ad targeting.
With this strategy, you can reach quality target audiences and stay compliant with Apple’s (and Google’s future) restrictions.
MyAppFree can help you with this – feel free to reach out to us!
