How to Effectively Track App Downloads and Their Sources

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To track app downloads and understand where they are coming from, the best approach depends on the platform (Android or iOS): For Android: - Use the Play Install Referrer Library. This allows you to retrieve the referrer URL string (which contains campaign and source data) when your app is installed. - Parse the referrer data and send it to Mixpanel as properties in your install event. This way, you can analyze which campaigns or sources are driving installs in your Mixpanel reports Tracking Best Practices: Mobile Attribution.For iOS: - The Apple App Store strips referrer data, so you cannot natively track where users came from before the install. - To solve this, use a mobile attribution tool (such as Adjust, AppsFlyer, or Branch) that specializes in mapping the user journey across channels and can integrate with Mixpanel. These tools can provide attribution data for installs and send it to Mixpanel via webhooks, SDK-to-SDK integrations, or direct server-to-server connections Mobile Attribution Integrations.General Best Practices: - For Android, you can implement the Play Install Referrer directly for basic attribution. - For both Android and iOS, using a dedicated mobile attribution partner is recommended for more comprehensive and reliable attribution data. Mixpanel integrates with several such partners, and you can choose the integration method (webhook, SDK-to-SDK, or direct server integration) that best fits your needs Mobile Attribution Integrations.This setup will allow you to see which marketing channels, campaigns, or sources are driving your app downloads in Mixpanel, enabling you to optimize your acquisition strategies.

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